Mickelson masters nerve for first major

Mickelson jumped for joy, and everyone who witnessed the scene sensed his elation. After the close calls, the disappointments, and the criticism that accompanied being the world’s best player without a major championship, Mickelson seized his moment, shooting an improbable 5-under-par 31 on Augusta’s nerve-racking back nine. It was the lowest back nine by a winner since Jack Nicklaus’ 31 in 1986, and for Mickelson, the feeling was everything he expected. “I really don’t know what to say, to tell you how awesome it feels,” Mickelson said after his 23rd career victory, but his first in a major in 43 attempts as a professional. “I have a memory or an experience that I’ll remember the rest of my life.”

Mickelson finished at 9-under-par 279 for the tournament after shooting a 3-under-par 69 in the final round, one stroke head of Els (67) and three ahead of K.J. Choi (69).

As the back nine unfolded, the gallery roars echoed through Augusta trees, one after another, as players all over the course kept making improbable shots. Els had two eagles and at one point took a three-stroke lead. Choi holed out for an eagle at No. 11, sinking a 5-iron shot from 220 yards. There were two holes in ones at No. 16, first by Padraig Harrington and then by Kirk Triplett about 10 minutes later. Triplett fell flat on his back when the ball went into the cup.

But the final bow was taken by Mickelson, who had finished second or third in eight other majors. With Els already finished at eight under par, Mickelson came to the par-4, 465-yard 18th hole knowing he could win the tournament with a birdie, lose the tournament with a bogey or force a playoff with a par.

The pressure was suffocating, but Mickelson never flinched. He split the fairway with a 3-wood off the tee, then hit an 8-iron shot from 162 yards that stopped about 20 feet behind the hole, leaving Mickelson the kind of putt he wanted.

Then Mickelson received another break, when his playing partner, Chris DiMarco, who tied for sixth, hit a bunker shot that stopped about 6 inches directly behind where Mickelson would be putting. That gave Mickelson the chance to read how his putt would break, as DiMarco putted first.

Then came the hard part, making the putt. But for the first time, a major ended with Mickelson in celebration rather than disappointment.

‘‘I think the most difficult part of this 10-year journey has just been dealing with, I don’t want to say failure, but dealing with loses time after time’’, Mickelson said. ‘‘It just gets frustrating. It can wear on you, except that you just can’t let it.’’

In one of his close calls in majors, at the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, Mickelson lost by a stroke when Payne Stewart made a par-saving putt on the final hole. As Mickelson congratulated Stewart, Stewart reminded Mickelson that his wife, Amy, was expecting the couple’s first child any day and that there were more important things in life than golf. Five years later, Mickelson and his wife have three children, and they all surrounded Mickelson as he left the 18th green after he sank his winning putt. Throughout his career, Mickelson has considered himself fortunate and his life fulfilling. But to have captured a major, and a coveted green jacket for winning the Masters, his career was undeniably more complete. When asked what he would have thought about his career if he had never won a major, Mickelson had a tidy response. ‘‘I had never thought about that,” Mickelson said. “Nor do I have to.”

(The New York Times)