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Phil won the battle, Tiger won the war, and all seems right in the golf world. The game’s two most popular and talented players grabbed the headlines on Sunday, bringing the season-long FedExCup competition to a satisfying close and setting the table for a compelling 2010.
The Cup will always play second-fiddle to the NFL, given its September slot on the sports calendar, but this has to be what Tim Finchem & Co. had in mind when they devised the playoff system. A star-studded leaderboard contended throughout the weekend for the prestigious Tour Championship title, while the battle-within-the-battle for the Cup raged simultaneously. And while the arcane points system is a head-scratcher, even for the players themselves, NBC helpfully supplied the various contingencies that ultimately resulted in the best player getting the big prize.
Tiger Woods completed a remarkable season, one that erased any doubt about the state of his game or his desire coming off knee surgery, and earned the $10 million bonus for winning the points chase. And Phil Mickelson shook off months of personal turmoil to post season-best ball-striking and putting performances, including a final-round 65 that clinched his third win of the season and the 37th of his career.
With that, golf’s most gripping twosome has kick-started the countdown toward Augusta 2010, where their personal rivalry will once again take center stage.
Closing Strong
The Mickelson family’s struggles with cancer — both his wife Amy and his mother have been battling breast cancer — have been well-documented and made his performance on a tough, windswept East Lake course that much more impressive and meaningful.
“It means a lot to finish the year off on such a good note,” he said after posting a remarkable 9-under 271 for the four days. “You know, we’ve been through a lot, and I’m very proud of my wife and my mom on the fight that they’ve been through, and we’ve been fortunate in the long-term. We’re in good shape. Although day-to-day is tough, and the meds are tough, and it’s not easy for them, we’re fortunate that our long-term outlook looks good.”
Unfortunately for Mickelson, the calendar reads September instead of April. He’s playing his best golf just in time to hang up the sticks for the season, save a Presidents Cup appearance. But he enters his long offseason with his game in good working order, thanks to his improvement with the flat stick thanks to a helpful consultation from Dave Stockton.
“I feel like I have some direction now on where I want to go with my putter,” he said. “I felt like I’ve been hitting it this well for quite some time since working with Butch (Harmon), and yet I have not had the results. So to be able to put it all together from tee to green as well as on the green feels great.
“I think that I’m excited to get 2009 behind me and look forward to 2010. I’m excited about this offseason, to be able to spend more time doing fun things, vacations, what have you, with Amy and the kids, and I’m excited about where my golf game is headed in that I know where my long game is headed with Butch’s guidance, and I know where my short game is headed with both Daves’ guidance (Pelz and Stockton), and I’m excited about what 2010 brings.”
Mickelson’s long-time caddy “Bones” Mackay had the idea to consult with Stockton, a two-time PGA Championship winner and Champions Tour stalwart known for his putting wizardry.
“Bones came up with a great idea. I said, ‘Bones, for two years, I’ve been kind of floundering here not having the right direction. I want you to think about it.’ He came back the next day, and he said, ‘I think you should call Dave Stockton. You guys putt the same. You’ve talked to him in the past and he had some great ideas.’ ”
The result: 1.617 putts per green in regulation, best in the field.
Consolation Prize
Clearly, Woods would rather have won the tournament. But Tiger played the good soldier for Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, celebrating a Cup that doesn’t mean as much to him as a major and a $10 million bonus that he doesn’t need.
Still, Tiger’s pride in what he accomplished this season is genuine.
“Yeah, to win the FedExCup and to be as consistent as I have been all year is something that I’m very proud of,” he said. “There’s so many unknowns at the beginning of the season, and to play as consistently as I have — I think it’s nine top-twos this year — I certainly wouldn’t have expected that going into my first event, the Match Play, to end up where I’m at right now. I’m very proud of that and proud of what Hank (Haney) has done and my trainers to get me to this point.
“I’m sure I would probably be more happy tomorrow than I am right now, because you’re in the moment trying to win this event. Winning takes care of everything, just like if you win consistently throughout the year, you get the Jack Nicklaus award, you get the Arnold Palmer award, you get the Byron Nelson Award for being consistent. But when you’re in the moment out there, I’m trying to win a golf tournament, I’m trying to beat Phil, he’s trying to beat me … Come tomorrow, I’m sure I’ll feel a lot better.”
See You Next Year
Woods set the stage for 2010, seeming to relish the thought of doing battle with a rejuvenated Mickelson.
“If you look at my career so far, I’ve had probably three main guys I’ve played against since the inception of my career, Phil, Ernie (Els) and Vijay (Singh), where we’ve gone at it consistently throughout my 13 years out here. So certainly I would love to go at it again with him. We’ve had certain runs where we’ve battled a lot, and I think with those three main guys I’ve been consistent throughout my entire career. It’s been a lot of fun. That’s kind of been my generation of guys to deal with for over a decade.”
Come on, Augusta. You can’t get here fast enough.
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