While Phil Mickelson is arguably not quite in that very top tier of the greatest golfers to ever play the game, it is surely fair to say that the six-time major champion is definitely one of the sport’s greatest entertainers.
There have been few players quite like Phil Mickelson over the years. He has won three of the four majors, while he was arguably the most consistent rival Tiger Woods had across his career.
There was almost a sense of excitement amongst the galleries when Mickelson would land himself in danger off the tee. In fact, you would almost not be at all surprised if Lefty himself relished the chance to produce a moment of magic which would steal the show.
Whether he found the trees, the downslope of a bunker or even the hospitality area, Mickelson always seemed capable of getting himself out of trouble with the most dramatic shot – and made it look unbelievably easy.
The shot Phil Mickelson hit at the Masters which stunned Billy Foster
And perhaps no moment better encapsulates Mickelson’s brilliance when escaping danger than the 13th hole on Sunday at the 2010 Masters.
He found himself two shots clear of Lee Westwood when he sent his tee shot on the par five into the trees on the right, having failed to fade the ball around the corner.
He had two trees in close proximity in front of him, while the pin was on the right side of the green over the water. Nevertheless, Mickelson took little time over the ball before hitting the most magical iron shot to just a few feet.
It was the moment which seemed to all but confirm his victory – despite then missing the eagle putt – and speaking on The 19th Uncut, Billy Foster explained how he was left in disbelief further down the fairway.
“Looks like Lee’s finally going to break his duck and win the Masters, and Mickelson got it up and down out the trees on eight, up and down out the trees on nine, up and down out the trees on 10, up and down out the trees on 11, and he’s hit that shot on 13,” he said.
“He’s in the middle of the pine straw with the trees probably seven or eight yards in front of him with a three or four foot gap. Bones is doing what I did with Seve in Switzerland, trying to talk him out of it: ‘just chip it out sidewards, wedge it on the green and make birdie’. ‘No, I’ve got this shot’.
“As he’s over the shot, I’m stood down the fairway with Westy, maybe 50 yards in front of him on the left side of the fairway by the creek, and I was like, ‘this k——d’s going for this’. I’m going, ‘go for it Phil, you beauty’. Pin’s back right. ‘What a k——d this guy is’. And he’s hit this shot and it’s in the air, and you can see it’s stalled. I’m like, ‘what a clown’.
“And it’s pitched a foot over the water and ended up like that. I’m like, ‘you’ve got to s——g me’. It’s up there with the most courageous, lunatic shot, like Seve’s behind the wall in Switzerland. He hit it to three and a half, four foot. What a golf shot.”
What Lee Westwood said about Mickelson’s shot at the Masters
Westwood would never come closer to winning a green jacket. So it must have been a gut punch for the Englishman, particularly as he would have hoped that Mickelson’s momentum may be about to stall at that moment. A par on 13 usually feels like a missed opportunity.
And after the final round, Westwood was asked whether he could think of a better shot he had seen.
“Not around here, no. It was something special. To not finish off with an eagle is quite surprising. You don’t see that normally,” he said.
It was certainly a shot which immediately wrote its name into Masters folklore alongside the likes of Jack Nicklaus‘ putt on 17 in 1986 and Tiger Woods’ chip in in 2005. And it was fitting that it set the stage for Mickelson to win for the third time around Augusta National.
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