Phil Mickelson hasn’t won a tournament since 2013. Let that sink in for a moment.
Hard to believe, I know.
It’s almost as unfathomable as Tiger going winless in majors since 2008. But its a fact. One that likely doesn’t sit well with Lefty, considering his competitive fire.
He has been close several times since capturing the Claret Jug at Murfield in the 2013 Open Championship, a victory that might be the most satisfying of his career as he eluded to after a brilliant final round 66.
“I didn’t know if I would ever develop the game as a complete player to win this championship. I can’t explain the feeling of satisfaction to win this tournament. Today’s round will be one of the most memorable rounds of golf I’ve ever played.”
The colorful yet controversial Golf Channel analyst that is Brandel Chamblee, decided to stir the pot following Dustin Johnson’s romp in the Sentry.
And if you thought DJ couldn’t produce a more memorable moment than his hole out from the fairway in Round 2 on the par-4 12th, he went ahead and nearly made an ace on Sunday.
DJ laced his drive up the left side on the 433-yard, downhill par-4 that doglegs right. His ball caught the slope and bounded down the hill for nearly 100 yards, tracking toward the flag, stopping just four inches from the cup. A couple more revolutions and we would have seen perhaps the greatest albatross in history.
But Chamblee, a self proclaimed sucker for the power drive (possibly because he didn’t have one), went off his rocker and said:
‘Hardest thing to do in golf is hit it long and straight, I think DJ’s shot is the greatest shot ever hit in the game.’
Bold call Brandel, but let’s pump the brakes a little.
DJ’s prodigious power is not unaccompanied on Tour. He is not the only player that could’ve hit that shot. Several other players can carry it out there 330 yards or so and get a football field of roll. Rory, J-Day, Bubba just to name a few. How about big Tony Finau, who leads the Tour this season in driving distance at 336 yards per smack?
It may have been the best drive of all time, but here are four reasons why it could never be considered the greatest shot in history.
Today is an exciting day in the golf world. Because today is filled with anticipation.
Your head only has to hit the pillow one more time before the greatest golfer (by far) this generation has ever seen, tees it up again in a professional tournament after a long, uncertain hiatus.
And considering where Tiger Woods was with his injured back following multiple surgeries, it was difficult for even the most loyal fans to maintain faith in his comeback. Especially after reports of him having a difficult time standing for extended periods, let alone swinging a golf club.
And anyone who has had back trouble knew that it was possible that Tiger’s ride just might be over with his sunset setting far too soon.
But the curtain hasn’t closed just yet. The Big Cat is back and swinging “pain free.”
So feel free to get excited!
Tiger played a pain-free practice round today at the site of this week’s Hero World Challenge. “The fact that I don’t have any pain in my lower back…it’s just remarkable,” Woods said.More details: http://glfdig.st/fdSgnfH (🎥: Instagram/TGRLiveEvents)
Posted by Golf Digest on Sunday, November 26, 2017
“The fact that I don’t have any pain in my lower back…it’s just remarkable,” Woods said.
Tomorrow, Tiger will tee it up in the Hero World Challenge with many of the top players in the game, some of whom were in diapers when Tiger made his PGA Tour debut.
And what do these young stars think of his game?
When Rickie Fowler was asked after a practice round at The Medalist whether or not Tiger was hitting it by him, Rickie said, “Oh yeah. Way by.”
Not long ago, Patrick Cantlay was a highly touted collegiate golfer at UCLA with dreams as bright as his game.
Ranked as the best amateur in the world (a title he held for a record 55 weeks), Cantlay was labeled a “can’t miss” player and had his sights set not only on the Tour, but finding the winners circle quickly.
But for as long as it took for him to craft his dream as a young player, fate sure didn’t seem to bat an eye when it dealt that dream a damaging body blow, and then proceeded with an uppercut right to the chin.
His dream was down for the count, but would Cantlay get off the mat?
Considering the tribulations he faced during the last five years, it would have been forgivable if he decided to stay down.
A stress fracture in his L5 vertebrae led to a withdrawal from the 2013 Colonial, and anyone who has played golf long enough knows how critical it is to have a healthy and functional back.
But Cantlay had the antithesis of that as he would go on to he would make just six starts over the next three years on tour, missing the entire 2016 season.
“There’s not a lot of give up in me. I never really thought about giving up,” he said. “I thought maybe there was a chance my back would never feel good enough to play again … but I knew that I’d be able to get to where I wanted to be if I felt healthy. My main goal was just to get 100 percent healthy. I knew if I could get 100 percent healthy, everything else would take care of itself.”
He worked hard to rehabilitate his back and fought with grit and determination to return to the form that had such promise.
But then came the uppercut.
In early 2016, as if he had not been through enough already, tragedy struck.
Around 1 a.m. on a February morning, Patrick Cantlay’s life changed forever. He and his longtime friend and caddie, Chris Roth, were walking down by Woody’s Wharf in Newport beach. Roth, was about ten paces in front of his friend when a hit-and-run driver plowed through the intersection launching Roth through the air.
Cantlay rushed to help his friend but there was nothing left to save. When he got to the body, he knew his friend “wasn’t there anymore.” Chris Roth had died at the age of 24. If they were walking together, Cantlay may have also been hit.
“It still bothers me every day. It changes the way that you see things for a while. Maybe not forever, you get numb to it,” Cantlay said. “For a while, I couldn’t care less about everything. Not just golf. Everything that happened in my life for a couple months didn’t feel important. Nothing felt like it mattered.”
For many, it would’ve been easy to give up after a catastrophe like that, but Cantlay decided to pick himself up off the deck and go forward, using the turmoil that struck his life as fuel to his ever burning fire.
“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get back up.” – Vince Lombardi
And did he ever! Just a few weeks ago, Cantlay, after coming so close in the past, played valiantly and won the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in a playoff after a 5-under 67. And now, after all he’s been through, he will forever be able to call himself a PGA Tour winner. And no one can take that away.
Dream realized.
And one can only wonder whether his friend was on his mind when he sank the final putt. But one thing is for certain, Chris Roth was certainly a part of his journey.
Patrick Cantlay makes a par putt on the second playoff hole to win the Shriners Hospitals For Children Open. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Hardship alters the way people live their lives. You can let it defeat you, or you can become stronger and wiser.
The great Nelson Mandela famously said, “I never lose. I either win or I learn.“
