Mickelson is true master as Westwood left waiting
Lee Westwood was generous and dignified when defeated by Phil Mickelson at Augusta this weekend, even if the redness in his eyes suggested Westwood was more upset than he was willing to let on.
But the Englishman could take real solace in Phil Mickelson's words of comfort, after the Californian finished three strokes ahead to clinch his third green jacket. After the defeat, Westwood revealed: "Phil was saying that he has been that man. He has hung around at the top of leaderboards at major championships and not got anything, and here he is today sitting there with four of them."
And it's true; for the longest time, Mickelson seemed destined to remain forever on the cusp of greatness, never to clinch one of golf's most revered trophies. Turning professional in 1992, Mickelson gradually built up a following for his success on the PGA Tour, leading to the dreaded tag that Westwood now carries: best golfer never to win a major. In the years between 1999 and 2003, Mickelson finished in second or third place at a major tournament on six occasions.
That hoodoo was finally broken in 2004, when Mickelson defeated Ernie Els at the Masters to clinch that long-awaited first victory. Since then Mickelson has gone on to win at Augusta in 2006, as well as again this past weekend, and "Lefty" also won the PGA Championship in 2005.
In the last 18 months or so, Mickelson has had more important priorities than victories in golf tournament. First his wife Amy and then his mother were both diagnosed with breast cancer in the space of a few weeks. While each member of the Mickelson family continues to fight the disease, the 39-year-old could be forgiven for having his focus elsewhere.
Last week, for a few hours at least, Mickelson managed to put those bigger worries out of his mind. Westwood will scarcely begrudge the man such a win, but more importantly, the 36-year-old can use Mickelson's career trajectory as one that he himself can seize on for inspiration.
Mickelson, too, was in his mid-thirties before he secured his first major win. Westwood must believe that with a record of third, third and second in his last three major outings, that elusive first win will come.
The unpalatable truth, though, is that there are other, less encouraging paradigms. Colin Montgomerie is widely viewed as the greatest golfer never to have triumphed at the highest level; his domination of the Order of Merit on the European Tour in the 1990s was such that he won every year between 1993 and '99. Bar the Masters, where his best finish was tied for eighth, Montgomerie also came second or tied for second in every major event.
It's tempting to believe that Westwood simply needs to continue playing to the same superb standard he's been producing recently - no walk in the park in itself. But Monty's unhappy legacy proves that on occasion, even the finest players also need the golfing gods to give them a break.
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