Mickelson gets one more Masters memory

AUGUSTA, Ga. — He told us he was hesitant to say too much, which was so unlike Phil Mickelson. But that’s OK. His game told us everything we needed to know, almost.

It told us at 52, after the money losses, after in effect jumping ship — well leaving a lifetime link to the PGA Tour to hook up with the contentious LIV Tour — and after slipping past his 50th birthday, Mickelson still is one of golf’s main men.

This 87th Masters, which came to a stunning conclusion Sunday, belonged as much to Mickelson the outcast, as it did to Jon Rahm, the champion. 

That Rahm, who began the final round two strokes behind the guy who led from virtually the first shot of the tournament, Brooks Koepka, ended up the winner wasn’t the shock. He had been atop the world rankings most of the spring, and through history, many leads have been squandered — blown, if you choose — on an Augusta National course full of promise and heartbreak.

You know the saying: The Masters doesn’t begin until the back nine on Sunday.

That’s when 52-year-old Phil Mickelson, a three-time Masters champ and a six-time majors champ, made his run. He was 1-under for 54 holes. He was 8-under for 72 holes. Yes, a 7-under-65, the low round of the day. May I add, wow?

What Mickelson added was, “I had so much fun today. I feel I’ve been hitting these types of quality shots but have not been staying focused and preset for the upcoming shot, and I make a lot of mistakes; Kind of like you saw Thursday, and that cost me a bunch of shots.”

Not so many he couldn’t soar up the leaderboard to finish second, at 280, only four behind Rahm, who had a 69, Saturday. Not so many that in the group press conference, he couldn’t revert to the cocky kid who always came up with a smart-aleck response. Not so many we couldn’t think of the times when Phil was challenging Tiger.

Woods, who made the cut for a 23rd straight time in a Masters but withdrew Sunday morning because of plantar fasciitis, aggravated by long rounds Friday and Saturday.

Mickelson, stashed away on the Saudi-financed LIV Tour, had not been noticed of late. Other than when he made the tour switch with what seemed a lot of guilt, calling the Saudis “bad mothers.”

Why did he join them? He wanted leverage against the PGA Tour, after questioning how purse money was distributed. Mickelson has made millions as a golf pro, but he’s also lost millions at the gambling tables or betting on sporting events.

Whatever, he was gone, an aging star who almost disappeared — as did another tour jumper, Koepka, since the LIV didn’t have any attention and until a few weeks ago had no U.S. TV coverage. Fortunately, the four major championships were unconcerned with affiliations. They just cared if you could play.

As re-learned, Mickelson very much could.

“I’m hopeful this kind of catapults me into playing the rest of the year the way I believe I’m playing,” he said. “I worked hard in the off-season to get ready.”

Asked what he learned about himself, Mickelson said, “It’s not so much what I’ve learned. I was thinking when you come here to Augusta, you end up having a sense of gratitude. It’s hard not to, right? This is what we strive for. There’s a kind of calm that comes over you.”

“The fact that we get to play and compete in this Masters. I think we’ve all been appreciative of that,” Mickelson added. “I love everything about this, because it’s what I dreamed of as a kid to be a part of and I’ve got so many great memories wrapped up here at Augusta.”   

Especially this one.

Jon Rahm, golf’s new conquistador

PACIFIC PALISADES — Do we simply add a Roman numeral to the late, great Seve Ballesteros? Call Jon Rahm the Spanish Armada II? The new Conquistador?

The Tour has ended its annual stay in the Golden West (yes, the U.S. Open will be here in June, but that’s a bit different) and Mr. Rahm claimed most of the gold along with a first place in the world rankings.

He earned $3.6 million alone with the victory Sunday in the Genesis Invitational at historic Riviera Country Club, to highlight a two-month stretch that also included wins at the Sentry in Maui (from seven shots back) and American Express in Palm Desert.

Toss in a third at the WM Phoenix Open, and Rahm has earned $9 million hitting a little white ball in two months.

In addition, Rahm won the Farmers Open in 2017 at Torrey Pines in San Diego and the U. S. Open at Torrey in 2021. 

West may be best for Jon, but it’s off to Florida and waypoints. Of course, both areas have beaches and palm trees.

Rahm’s winning total was a 17-under par 267 after a final-round 69. That also was ahead of the 269 by the local, Max Homa, who won the event two years back, and three up on another local, Patrick Cantlay.

Rahm graduated from Arizona State, Homa from Cal, and Cantlay for a while was at UCLA, making the Genesis seem much like a Pac-12 Conference competition.

Rahm was delighted with the way he responded to the back nine, making birdies at 12 and 16 just when the tournament appeared to be getting away.

“I’ve never had three PGA Tour wins in a season and to do it this early on is incredible, and to do it at this golf course,” Rahm said. “Talk about the history of Riviera as a golf course, the history of Tiger Woods as a player, those two combined in this tournament, it’s a pretty big deal. As a historian of the game, to be able to win a tournament hosted by Tiger and the one hosted by Jack [Nicklaus] as well, it’s pretty incredible.”

That word also applies to Rahm’s play quite an ability to adapt to different style courses. Kapalua, in Maui, is hilly and relatedly wide; the courses for the American Express are in the desert, while Riviera is a 100-year classic with narrow fairways and deep bunkers.

The locations will change. Rahm’s thoughts will not.

“Obviously I've been extremely disciplined my whole career, but right now I'm seeing the dividends of a lot of the hard work over the years,” said Rahm. “So just keep doing the small things and keep enjoying it, having fun. Obviously, when you're playing good it's really fun and when you're winning tournaments, extremely fun, but got to enjoy the tough moments as well. Try to take it all in and, like I said, keep doing the little things properly every day and hopefully I can keep putting myself in position to win.”

Sounds easy — when it works.

Rahm: From holding his face to holding the Open trophy

SAN DIEGO — It was less a golf tournament than a tragicomedy in three acts and two locations — part Hollywood, part St. Andrews and overall, very satisfying.

Two weeks ago, Jon Rahm had his face in his hands, stunned after being told he had to withdraw from the Memorial tournament in Ohio, where he had built a six-shot lead, because he tested positive for COVID.

On Sunday afternoon, many miles and smiles to the west, Rahm had his hands on the U.S. Open trophy, the first Spaniard to win the tournament.

While far too many of his skilled colleagues had their games come apart in a blitz of double bogies — or in the case of Byron DeChambeau, a quadruple-bogey — Rahm played the way favorites and winners play.

He closed with birdies at 17 and 18, fist-pumping in his Tiger Woods-red shirt on a Torrey Pines course where he had won a regular Tour tournament in 2017, the Farmers.

On Sunday, Rahm shot a spectacular 4-under-par 67 for a total of 6-under 278. That was one-shot better than Louis Oosthuizen, one of several who held the lead and then lost it on one of the more remarkable days in the 121 years of Open history.

When is the last time you heard of a guy in first on the back nine taking a quadruple-bogey on 13 and sinking to a tie for 26th? That was Byron DeChambeau, who had a 77 and said, “I didn’t really hit it very good and just got unlucky.”

But this tale is about Rahm. With his wife, Kelley, a former javelin thrower at Arizona State where Rahm was on the golf team, and their infant son, he was able to celebrate Father’s Day in great fashion.

“I think I said it (Saturday),” Rahm pointed out. “I'm a big believer in karma, and after what happened a couple weeks ago, I stayed really positive knowing good things were coming. I didn't know what it was going to be, but I knew we were coming to a special place.

“I knew I got a breakthrough win here, and it's a very special place for my family, and the fact that my parents were able to come, I got out of COVID protocol early, I just felt like the stars were aligning, and I knew my best golf was to come.”

But not until the 26-year-old Rahm found a way to get across the country. He was unable to fly after failing the COVID test. But golf guys, especially those with large budgets, are not like the rest of us. Rahm chartered an air ambulance.

The way the final round went, it seemed others needed help, mental if not medical. Collin Morikawa made a run — and double-bogied. Rory McIlroy came within a shot of the lead — and double-bogied. Francesco Molinari had things going — and double-bogied.

Meanwhile Rahm, who was two shots back after 54 holes, picked up two on the front. But after making seven straight pars from 10 he didn’t gain any ground. Then, wham, the birdies at 17 and 18. That will get your attention. It did get Rahm the Open.

“I have a hard time explaining what just happened,” he said, “because I can't even believe I made the last two putts, and I'm the first Spaniard ever to win a U.S. Open.”

Not surprisingly, he dedicated the victory to the late Seve Ballesteros, the Spaniard who won two Masters and two British Opens but never a U.S. Open.

“This was definitely for Seve,” he said. “I know he tried a lot, and usually we think a lot about him at the Masters, but I know he wanted to win this one most of all. I just don't know how to explain it.”

In golf you don’t explain, you play. And in this Open, he played magnificently. Olé.

The Athletic: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am endures as a singular celebration of golf

By Art Spander
The Athletic

PEBBLE BEACH — You start with arguably one of the game’s three most impressive datelines — St. Andrews and Augusta are the other two — add decades of history, laughs and people named Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, and are blessed with an event that’s as much a treasure as it is a tournament.

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is a mid-winter celebration of sport and, yes, entertainment, when amateurs — some with big names, some with big games — pair up with champions on three courses that are as beautiful as they are testing: Pebble, Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula Country Club.

Read the full story here.

©2018 The Athletic Media Company. All rights reserved.