Throughout the work day yesterday, a co-worker and I had the Masters Golf Tournament on in the background as we pieced together another solid Sunday paper. The TV served as white noise for the simple matter that neither of us like silence and it was incredible to see what 21-year-old Jordan Spieth was doing.
Then, in one instant, we stopped our work and glued our eyes on the TV set.
Phil Mickelson was measuring his second shot on Firethorn, the par-5 15th.
Mickelson addressed his ball and let loose a fantastic swing. His shot climbed into the blue Augusta sky and bounced 10 feet from the hole. Could it dunk the cup?
We both yelled in unison: “Come on, Phil. Get that (double-eagle) albatross.”
As the ball narrowly missed the pin and rolled past the hole, our moment in unison gave way to a laugh and Mickelson soon two-putted for a birdie to drop him to -11.
Could you imagine the ensuing roar that would echo through Augusta National if that shot fell? After all, Mickelson has a flair for the dramatic at the Masters. Don’t tell me you forgot this shot from Mickelson five years ago on Azalea, the par-5 13th.
I don’t know why, but Mickelson is one of those players people love to cheer. There were two of us in the Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald newsroom rooting for his quick climb up the leaderboard to put pressure on Spieth, who fell back to Earth a bit.
Other than Mickelson, there are a few athletes I always want to see succeed.
Paul Goldschmidt — I covered Goldschmidt, also known as “GOLDY” in my close circle, for two years at Texas State. He’s a total class act and one of the first guys I covered to make it to the professional level. While I don’t watch too many of his games since he plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks, I’ll always check the box score and give a small nod of approval should I see a home run or similar big hits.
Joplo Bartu — Bartu is another athlete I covered at Texas State. After he set the field on fire in 2012, Bartu was signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent (even though if Dennis Franchione didn’t foolishly move him to defensive end, he could have been a mid-round draft pick, but I digress). Injuries moved Bartu into a starting role as a rookie and he’s been solid ever since then. Plus, he’s a great guy and was always incredibly honest and open with me during interviews.
The underdog — Maybe that’s what drew me to Mickelson all those years ago. I can say for sure that’s what made covering the San Marcos Lady Rattlers last year in the Texas Class 5A state playoffs so much fun. No one expected them to win district or bi-district or area or the regional quarterfinal. Plus, I got some great clips from it.
I’m sure there are others, but those are the ones that jumped into my mind first.
Photo courtesy of The Associated Press/Matt Slocum.