Masters memories for Mickelson
April 28, 2010
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—One picture getting plenty of attention the day after theMasters was Phil Mickelson in a green jacket. There was nothing unusual aboutthat except for where the photo was taken.
Mickelson was in his car at the window of a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop inAugusta, Ga.
The three-time Masters champion says he doesn’t eat a lot of carbohydratesor sugars during the tournament, which was only a problem because his kidswanted doughnuts. So he made a deal that he would take them to Krispy Kreme onMonday after the Masters.
As for the green jacket?
“It was a little chilly, so I threw on a jacket,” he said Wednesday.
The surprise was when he returned home to San Diego. His family left Augustaa few hours after going to Krispy Kreme, and when the plane landed, Mickelsonnoticed he had received texts and e-mails about the photo, which was taken by anemployee.
“It’s fascinating because it just shows how things have changed over thelast 15, 20 years since I was out on tour,” Mickelson said. “When I went tocollege we didn’t have cell phones, and since I’m out of college and out ontour, everybody is media now. The lady behind the counter at Krispy Kreme ismedia, and it’s an interesting thing to get used to.”
Mickelson took time during his two-week break to watch highlights fromAugusta National, and while he had full confidence in his majestic 6-iron offthe pine straw and over Rae’s Creek on the 13th hole Sunday, he conceded that itsure looked different on TV.
“I guess if you’re on the outside looking in and you see this guy in thepine needles and the trees and stuff, trying to hit a shot through the trees andaround the trunks and over the water, I could see somebody questioning that,”Mickelson said. “But when you’re in it, when you’re out there in it and you seethe lie and you see the shot and you see the target, it doesn’t seem asdaunting.
“But as I kind of looked back and saw some of the pictures, I was like,“What was I doing?’ But it worked out.”
PRIVATE LIFE: Nothing about Tiger Woods’ private life is all that privateany longer. If he didn’t realize that already, there were photos and commentsabout Woods going to a Nickelback concert in Orlando, Fla., after the Masters.
“A couple of band members are friends of mine, and that’s why I went,”Woods said. “I just had a great time. And unfortunately, I got criticized forseeing my friends.”
Woods was asked if he felt as though he could start leading a relativelynormal life away from golf.
“No, there’s paparazzi everywhere—at home, helicopters here and there,people driving by, paparazzi camping out in front of the gates. That hasn’tchanged,” he said.
UNDER HIS THUMB: Despite winning the Houston Open and challenging at theMasters, Anthony Kim is not at full health. He will need surgery at some pointto reattach the ligament in his left thumb.
When? That’s the big question.
“The doctor has told me when the pain gets too hard to deal with, that’swhen I should do it,” Kim said. “But as of now, he said it can’t get anyworse, so I guess that’s a good thing. I’m just going to keep playing until Ican’t anymore.”
Kim said proper recovery would take two or three months, depending on theamount of damage and how surgery goes. He made it sound unlikely that he wouldwait until the end of the year.
“I don’t think I’m going to take that chance because I want to play in theRyder Cup, and that’s a huge goal of mine,” he said. “It was probably one ofthe greatest moments I’ve had playing golf, or greatest weeks I’ve had playinggolf. So I want to be healthy for that. I just want to time it right. But at thesame time, I want to play in all the majors, too, so in golf there’s not reallya good time to take time off. I just have to get with my team and see what’s theright plan.”
DOUBLE EAGLE HAS LANDED: Tiger Woods is still trying to find his rhythm froma five-month layoff, although he showed glimpses during one of his practicerounds at home in Isleworth with John Cook. He made the third albatross of hiscareer with a 5-wood from 260 yards on No. 17.
“Never saw it go in,” Woods said. “The green is slightly elevated, so Iknew it landed on the green, and when we got up there, there was a ball mark andthere was no ball. And that’s a pretty good feeling, especially when we had afew dollars on the line, too. That put me up on the last hole. So I was evenmore happy.”
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