Tiger and Phil Play Their Own Masters!

There was a battle for the ages going on at the Masters on Sunday and it wasn’t between the leaders of the tournament. Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods teed off one hour before the leaders and captivated the patrons at Augusta and the television audience for the next four hours. This round of golf rivaled what many called the greatest Masters ever, the 1986 Master, where Jack Nicklaus won his sixth green jacket to become the tournament’s oldest winner. This is what the fans of golf have been waiting for: a battle between the two biggest names in golf in a major tournament.

These two golfers have dominated the fans of golf for the last decade. Phil and Tiger fans have battled for their man more frequently then Tiger and Phil have on the golf course. Sunday was different. Even though they were far from the lead, this matchup had all the makings of a classic battle. The two of them did not disappoint their fans; it was a fierce battle all the way to the seventeenth green.

They matched pars on the first and a pair of birdies on the second, and then Phil drew first blood between the two with a birdie on the third. Mickelson then went on a record tying run. He played two thru eight in six under par, for an opening score of thirty to tie the record for lowest total on the front nine. Phil had put himself back in the tournament. Woods could only manage a two under thirty-four. Phil had got it to ten under par before he put his tee shot on twelve in the creek and took double bogey.

Then Woods took over. He narrowly missed an eagle on thirteen, settled for bird and then birdied fifteen and sixteen. That put him to nine under with the leaders at ten under. The birdie on sixteen brought roars from the crowd reminiscent of the roar for Nicklaus when he birdied the same hole in 1986.

At the seventeenth tee you could sense that Woods felt he has a chance to tie for the lead. After he missed the fairway to the right and was forced to take bogey, you knew he was done. He bogeyed eighteen after missing the fairway and hitting a tree with his second shot to finish with a four under 68.

Mickelson bogeyed eighteen to finish at nine under for the tournament. Both golfers seemed to run out of the magic they had earlier during the round. Even though Woods and Mickelson stumbled at the finish their pairing was a joy to watch. The two of them had their own match play tournament within a tournament and it was a memorable match. The two best golfers in the world went toe to toe in the final round at Augusta and it will be remembered for years to come.

The “real” tournament was one by Angel Cabrera on the second hole of a playoff with Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell. Perry squandered his two stroke lead with a bogey, bogey finish. On the first hole of the playoff Cabrera s to force another playoff hole with Perry. It is Cabrera’s second major win to go with his 2007 US Open win. He played well and hung in there with his one under par to get into the playoff.

This was a tournament that will be remembered for years to come.