'Fun-Philled' Sunday

By Brian Betz

I can't remember a time in my life like Sunday, when I felt so sick, but so good at the same time. Thanks Phil.

Saturday night, I came down with some 24-hour flu that carried through Easter Sunday. It left me bedridden trying to choke down a Jamba Juice while everyone else was out enjoying their feasts for the holiday.

But then there was golfer Phil Mickelson, strolling up the 18th fairway of Augusta with a smile on his face so permanent that I couldn't have erased it from the TV screen even if I turned it off. He didn't even lead most of the final round of the Masters, trailing Ernie Els, yet you would've thought he had a 10-stroke lead by the time he reached the 18th green. The two were tied before Mickelson drained an 18-foot putt that gave me a small feel for what it will be like the day the Seattle Seahawks win the Super Bowl.

Going from 0-42 in major tournaments to an emphatic 1-43, Mickelson silenced the critics who said he may never win a major. Phil won $1.17 million and I felt like a million bucks.

I'm not one of those fans that hopped on the lovable-Phil bandwagon because he's always been good, but not great; always in contention, but never clutch enough to win a major. I never thought, "Oh, poor Phil will never win anything with guys like Tiger Woods in the game." I've pulled for him since the late-1990s, specifically during the 1999 US Open when he lost to the late Payne Stewart by one stroke.

Mickelson, and all of pro golf, represent something extremely pure and reputable. No performance-enhancing drug issues. No crybaby athletes whining because they aren't paid enough millions of dollars per year. Just guys like Mickelson who compete in the purest form. Whether they win or lose, they do it with class and composure.

Sunday's final round of the Masters was easily the greatest day of golf I've ever witnessed. Two hole-in-ones in the span of 10 minutes, each one coming on the par-3 16th. Multiple players in contention all day. And then Phil, who played aggressively all day, as if it were a practice round, and then donned the Green Jacket for the first of however many major victories.

A feat that made me forget my illness for a few hours.

Thanks Phil.

û Contact Brian Betz (408) 554-4852 or bbetz@scu.edu.