Call it the “announcer’s curse.”
Phil Mickelson stood over a five-footer for birdie at the 72nd hole of the AT&T Pro-Am on Sunday, moments before, CBS color analyst Nick Faldo called that putt “a piece of cake.”
Indeed, Faldo and Jim Nance were basically conceding an up-and-down birdie to Lefty. They believed it was a given and probably a lot of viewers felt the same way.
Consider that Mickelson’s short game had put him in position to tie for the lead with eventual winner Vaughn Taylor. It was that short game that made up for Mickelson’s shaky ball-striking. This one looked routine. Clean lie, straight-forward look at the hole, nothing tough about it EXCEPT the pressure of ending his long winning drought.
Pressure is the great equalizer in sports. Separates the winners from the losers.
Mickelson’s chip could have been better. Those are the kind of shots he thinks about making and besides, he’d already made the really difficult putts — the eight-footer at 16 was really tough and the birdie putt from the fringe at 17 was do-or-die. So when those were taken into consideration, the five-footer at the final green did appear to be a piece of cake when compared to the ones he’d already made.
But with everything on the line, Mickelson hit it too hard, it caught part of the hole and lipped out.
Agony for Mickelson, ecstasy for Taylor, who was in need of a break.
If you love Cinderella stories, this was one.
Phil Mickelson has 42 wins on the PGA Tour and is a multi-gazillionaire.
Taylor has gone through really tough times and the one-time Ryder Cupper and two-time winner on the tour had no status ANYWHERE, on any tour.
The win, Taylor’s third, did more for him than victory would do for Mickelson.
Mickelson’s play of late has shown that he’s trending up, almost ready to win, and notice that’s almost.
When you saw his start to the day Sunday, when you saw him make a bogey early in the round from 90-yards out with a wedge in his hands, it’s obvious that Phil still has a ways to go.
As for Taylor, you gotta love it because this could end up being the PGA Tour’s “feel-good” story of the season.
