Phil Mickelson, the best golfer never to win a major (0-for-39) and who’s often prickly when confronted with this by the media, had a better attitude when beaten by Tiger Woods at the Masters on Sunday. He and his wife, Amy, had gone to see the move ” The Rookie” earlier in the week:
“One line in the movie that hit home with me came when [Dennis Quaid] walked in and said how lucky he was to play baseball every day. I’m so lucky to play golf for a living. To play the back nine at Augusta National on Sunday, be on the leaderboard. It’s the most special feeling… I’m not that overly disappointed, believe it or not. I played well, had a good tournament strategy and just had a couple of unfortunate breaks. I don’t think third place is something to be overly disappointed with…It has been an awkward past 12 or 15 months. I’ve not had the most popular or positive stuff written about me. But this week, a lot of [reporters] came up to me, my wife, Amy, and my family members and showed a lot of encouragement, and I appreciate those kind words.”
Winning $380,800 probably should’ve been mentioned, and he still seems to think he has nothing to do with whether the reporters are nice or not. But this is progress for Phil, so I’ll be nice, too.