Vousden on the Masters

Thought for the Day
What if there were no hypothetical questions?

Roll on Pebble Beach
It is impossible not to feel a warm glow on behalf of Phil Mickelson after landing his third green jacket, even for those of us who were rooting for Lee Westwood to make the breakthrough with his first Major win. Mickelson’s off-course anguish, having had his wife and mother diagnosed with cancer within a few days of each other last year, is well-known, and has been reflected on the golf course this season, with a series of uncharacteristically ragged performances.

And yet at Augusta National he was back to his smiling, adventurous, go-for-broke best, exemplified by the stonking shot he hit on the 13th. Having pushed his drive into the pine trees up the right, he nevertheless took on the challenge of firing his second, from a bed of pine needles, through the narrowest of gaps between a pair of tree trunks, to within five feet to set up an eagle chance. The fact that he only made birdie does not diminish the skill, confidence and courage he showed in both contemplating and then executing such a stroke of magisterial brilliance.

There have been, down the years, particular golf shots of such singular lustre that they burn in the mind’s eye long after other details of the event they graced have faded from memory. Gene Saracen’s albatross two at Augusta’s 15th; Tiger Woods’ chip-in on the 16th at the same course, when his ball hovered on the edge of the cup for an apparent eternity before finally succumbing to Newton’s laws of gravity; Tom Watson holing out from the back of the 17th at Pebble Beach to win his only US Open; Tony Jacklin’s drive on the 72nd hole at Royal Lytham in 1969; and Paul Lawrie ripping a 4-iron into Carnoustie’s final green for the coup de grace of a stunning four-hole playoff performance, for example.

Now we can add another and, like those other shots, it is the mastery of emotion and skill that set them apart because the exponent knew that this moment could define both the event in which they were playing and the rest of their career. It is one thing to contemplate, as Kipling advised, those twin imposters of triumph and disaster, but to recognise that both are possible outcomes and yet still take on the challenge, takes a particular talent.

Phil Mickelson is our modern day Arnold Palmer, of whom the great golf writer Peter Dobereiner once said: ‘He has everything except a brake pedal,’ and don’t we just love him for it. He also, like Palmer, plays with a smile on his face, has yet to see a challenge he won’t take on, and is unfailingly gracious, appreciative and giving to the galleries.

The same cannot be said for Tiger Woods but isn’t it the measure of the man that he hit more bad shots – and I mean truly execrable efforts – in a day than he usually hits in a month and yet still contended, and eventually finished tied fourth. When comparing Woods and Mickelson it is difficult not to be reminded of what Charles Price once wrote: ‘The golfing gods look on players like Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo and say: “The fans will admire and respect you” but then they whisper in the ears of Arnold Palmer and Seve Ballesteros: “But they will love you,”’

As for Lee Westwood – he just needs to be reminded, and I’m sure his caddy Billy Foster is just the man to do it, that all he needs to land his own Major is to carry on doing what he’s doing. There are many times over the years when starting the final round with a one-stroke lead, and shooting one-under par, would be more than enough to get the job done so let us hope that, when the dust settles and he is able to put the last week in perspective, that what he carries away from Georgia above all else is the knowledge that he deserves to be centre stage when the Big Ones roll around.

A few other Masters thoughts
Has Gary Lineker fallen out of favour with the BBC? I would never object to seeing Hazel Irvine but it seemed odd not to have old Jug Ears linking everything together.

What is it with the oldies? Tom Watson and Fred Couples – combined age 110 years – once again underlined that age, to some at least, is just a number.

And at the other end of the scale we had 16-year-old Matteo Manassero, who already looks like a Major champion in the making. Some things are just wrong.

Michael Campbell finished joint last, at 20 over par after rounds of 83, 81. Will we ever see him play decent golf again?

Tiger Woods missed a short birdie putt on the 14th but then, for the first time that I have ever seen, missed the one coming back through carelessness. Everyone misses ‘em at times but Tiger being casual, on the last day of a Major?

There were so many chip-ins, eagles and outrageous shots that it was like watching the Ryder Cup.

What a pleasure to hear the roars back at Augusta – but this was more to do with the weather than changes to course set-up.

Quote of the Week
Par is anything you want it to be. For instance, this hole here is a par 47. And yesterday I birdied the sucker.
Willie Nelson