My man wins the Master's

I don't spend a lot of time watching golf, but I did yesterday. It's a neat television sport because you can get stuff done and still tune in during the work breaks. So, when it did quit raining yesterday, I alternated outdoor projects with moments in front of the TV watching my man Phil Mickelson win his second green jacket.

Hadn't paid too much attention to the leaders except for the day that one of Bill's favorites, V.J. Singh, was leading. I have to admit being a terrible person for refusing to get excited when Tiger Wood wins tournaments. I'm not a fan of his. Granted, he probably is one of the greatest golfers the sport has ever known, but I've never cared for his attitude and there's something about the careful molding of a person from almost the day they're born that bothers me.

Tiger is a product of two overly goal-oriented parents. They've done a good job directing him down all the right paths and certainly they must derive great satisfaction from their pymalion efforts to create a larger-than-life athlete through which they can live vicariously. Granted, all parents wish the best for their kids, but somehow it seems to me that if the kid finds his or her true talents through independent discovery and through trial and error, the result is all the more satisfying.

That's why I like Phil Mickelson. He did receive encouragement from his parents, but that encouragement came to a young man who loved the sport of golf. He has worked himself up through the ranks and has earned his distinctions because of persistence and a hunger to achieve. Through it all, there's always the smile and always the willingness to bounce back from adversity. He seems like a true gentleman of golf-----a guy you'd like to know.

Anyway, I enjoyed watching him yesterday as he played a steady game of golf with his usual can-do attitude and smile. Bill thinks I like him cuz he's a leftie. Well, that's a good reason because I like lefties. We're a special breed who do things our own unique way, but Phil Mickelson offers a lot more to golf than his southpaw swing. Until a couple of years ago, he was known as the best golfer who'd never won a major tournament. Then, he won the Master's.

Yesterday's win came off a victory the week before where he came in first by 13 strokes. Not bad. The announcers said it was only the second time in history that a Master's Champion had won the tournament immediately preceding the Augusta tournament, which, by the way, offers the most beautiful setting imaginable for a sporting event. Some day I'd like to see that place during this time of the year when all those perennials put on such a show.

Bill likes Tiger. He also likes Davis Love III (I wonder why), but he seemed happy when he came off from a hike up Greenhorn to hear that Phil Mickelson had won. And, I'd have to say that if he likes Davis Love because of the last name, he SHOULD like "Phil" also, cuz if ya go to that Greek culture where Pygmalion molded his perfect woman from ivory and had her come alive, you'd learn that "Phil" means "Love."

So, not a bad day for the Love family golf fans.