This was the emotional comeback people wanted to see, not the one Tiger Woods was trying to make.
This was about winning one for your wife and coming together as a family, not cheating on your wife and tearing apart your family.
The week began with Phil Mickelson's wife at home in San Diego because she was too weak from her cancer treatments to come to the Masters. It ended with her coming to the Augusta National Golf Club to catch the end of her husband's stirring victory.
The week began with Woods' wife back in Sweden because she probably didn't want to be near her husband and the commotion of his scorned mistresses.
It ended with the world's No. 1 golfer talking about coming to Augusta National to win a golf tournament, not finishing tied for fourth.
Thank goodness for Mickelson.
He made sure all went as it probably should have, winning the 74th Masters Sunday with a feel-good story that allowed him to become only the eighth player to win three green jackets -- and only the fourth to win three in a seven-year span.
With his wife, Amy, pulling herself out of bed and watching from the back of the 18th green, he finished off a four-round spectacle of stunning shots and remarkable achievements with a 10-foot birdie on the final hole, pumping both arms in triumphant salute above his head.
After a warm and lengthy embrace with his caddie, Jim "Bones" McKay, Mickelson made his way up the runway behind the green and saw his wife standing with their kids. Mickelson did not know she was going to be there, but she was, too weak to even walk down to the green.
They hugged for a long time. And they cried.
"Not much was said," Mickelson said.
Then they walked, arm in arm, to the Jones Cabin for the green-jacket presentation.
"My wife has been through a lot this year and it means a lot to share some joy together," Mickelson said. "She's an incredible wife and incredible mother and she's been an inspiration for me this past year after what she's been through. To cap it off with this victory, I can't put into words."
Words aren't necessary.
This was a story of faith, commitment, love, not betrayal, marital infidelity and sociopathic behavior.
This was a triumph of family, a moment for tears. Not a moment for false redemption or a reward for cold, calculated behavior.
Mickelson had a pink ribbon on his hat and a smile on his face. Not a scarlet letter on his chest and a creepy commercial on television.
It has been a grueling 11 months for Lefty. Amy Mickelson was diagnosed with breast cancer in May. Her long-term prognosis is good, but the short-term struggle has been tough, changing the way they live. But it's not just Mickelson's wife who has breast cancer. So does his mother, who was diagnosed one month after Amy.
Because of their health, Mickelson has tried to curtail his travel schedule and spend more time at home.
"It's been an emotional year," Mickelson said. "I'm very proud of my wife, of the fight and struggle she's been through. To come out on top of this tournament is very emotional.
"It's one of the best things we've gone through. It's been tough. To be on the other end and feel this kind of jubilation is incredible."
It was remarkable all the way.
There were the back-to-back eagles in the third round and the wedge from 81 yards that nearly went in for a third in a row.
There was the 20-foot birdie putt from behind the hole at No. 12 that gave him a two-shot lead in the final round. And the 6-iron from 207 yards on a pine-straw lie that landed 4 feet from the hole at No. 13. And the adrenaline-filled 8-iron from 205 yards at No. 15 that he two-putted from 15 feet for birdie.
That allowed Mickelson to make the walk through the long shadows in the fading sunlight, a Masters champion again.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10102/1049742-136.stm#ixzz0krOh68Xn
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