Mickelson majors, at last

After many narrow misses, Phil Mickelson finally wins the coveted US Masters

Phil Mickelson carried a huge burden through the decade. Every time he was referred to as a "great" player, it was invariably followed by the tag, "Best Golfer Never to Win a Major".

Deep inside, Mickelson knew he could never be "great" as long as he did not have a Major. Nor was his late grandfather's collection of pin flags going to mean anything if he did not get that Green Jacket.

But Mickelson played brilliantly last Sunday. Smiling throughout the back nine, it was almost as if somebody had called him to say that his size 43L Green Jacket was ready and all he needed was to quickly finish the round and collect it.

Mickelson, 33, had been third on four different occasions in the Masters. In the 1999 US Open Championships, he was beaten by a shot when Payne Stewart made a 15-foot putt on the 72nd hole. In the 2001 US PGA, he was again beaten by a shot when David Toms made a 12-foot putt on the 72nd hole.

Despite having been stopped at the "Gate of Greatness" countless times ""17 top 10s in 46 Major appearances before this one"" he has been remarkably sure of himself.

The victory itself might have been somewhat hollow if others had fallen apart and he had somehow managed to stay standing. But it was nothing like that. Ernie Els played brilliantly with two eagles and a round of five-under 67. Korea's KJ Choi was fantastic in slotting putts.

But Mickelson's hour or rather 'nine' had arrived. After a two-over front nine which suggested that Mickelson might once again come short, he shed his old skin and prepared himself for a new one.

The moment of reckoning probably came around the 12th when he heard a massive roar for the group ahead of him. Golfers can make out when a roar means a birdie and when it means an eagle. And 'Lefty' Mickelson knew it was an eagle for Ernie Els at the 13th. That was when Mickelson went for the jugular.

He adopted an aggressive line and went for the pin on the 12th and ended 12 feet away. Standing on that putt, he was three behind but he knocked that in. On the 13th, he made another birdie. Suddenly he was just one behind with five holes to go.

Fate seemed to back Mickelson as was evident on the 13th. He could well have come to grief on the treacherous 13th, when his second shot to the par 5 came up short and should have fallen into Rae's Creek. Instead the ball stuck halfway down the bank as if an unseen hand had leapt to catch it. Instead of a bogey that could have destroyed his momentum, he almost holed a chip for eagle but still managed a birdie.

Mickelson later told the media: "When that putt on the 12th went in, that's when I started to feel like I could make this happen." And he did that with five birdies in the last seven. The last was a nerve-jangling 18-foot that was hanging on the left lip before circling around and going in. It was almost as if the ball wanted some drama of its own.

The fact that his playing partner "" Chris DiMarco "" had the same line and a putt a few inches behind him, also seemed like a divine hand guiding him to victory. DiMarco putted first and that gave Mickelson an indication of the line. DiMarco's putt was hanging on the left lip before falling off, and now Mickelson's putt was almost the same, except that it had a little added theatrics.

He was 69 for the day and nine-under 279 for the week, just one better than Els, who he passed only with the birdie on the 72nd.

At a time when there is so much talk on whether an engagement may have softened Tiger's claws, one thing is sure; a happy family life is giving Mickelson a lot of reasons to do well and has honed his killer instinct.

The 33-year-old father of three has been through a lot of trauma last year. He almost lost his wife Amy and son Evan during childbirth. A family man, Mickelson now seems to believe that missing four-foot putts mean a lot less than they did. Yet, ironically armed with such confidence, he is holing more putts than ever before, as his back nine 31 showed.

Giving more credit to help from "above" "" his grandfather Al Santos, who died last December "" Mickelson, kept saying, "I had a different feeling playing this week. I had a different feeling entering this tournament. I just had a real belief that I was going to come through this week. I didn't want to get too excited because I had that belief a number of times before and it never happened."

Of the night before the final round, he added, "I felt very calm, and last night when Amy [his wife] and I would talk we were just very calm. We felt like things were different. Out on the course, I didn't feel the anxiety of slipping away."

Stirring stuff from a man who has seen more Majors slip away from grasp than anyone else. Also, there was something precise about how he approached this Masters. He accepted his coach Rick Smith's advice to sacrifice length from the tee for accuracy.

Ironically, Tiger Woods, to whom every golfer of this generation is compared, has seen a downswing. Wood's refusal to go back to old coach Butch Harmon is increasingly being seen as affecting his game.

Sure, the final spoils went to Mickelson, but the final round saw some amazing golf. There was Ernie Els, whose two approach shots "" on the eighth and the 13th "" that set up two eagles which he duly holed, were just incredible. Then there were these amazing par saving putts.

KJ Choi had a improbable eagle two as he holed a five-iron shot from nearly 235 yards and, then, there were the two holes in one at the 16th by both Padraig Harrington and Kirk Triplett within a space of 15 minutes.

Making the final day all the more memorable was Bernhard Langer, who finished in a share of fourth place alongside Sergio Garcia and one place behind Choi. Langer comes as the Ryder Cup captain later this year while Gacia and Choi will continue their chase for their first Major.

Those fantastic shots may have inspired Mickelson to take his own game to new heights. He was quoted as saying, "My grandfather collected the flags of the tournaments that I have won, and so I would save the flags, I would write a little something on them and he would put them on his wall back home.

He said: "Enough of these Tour wins, enough of these; I want a Major'. Unfortunately, he passed away this January at 97 years of age, but over Christmas he said that this was going to be the year."

Armed with a Major, will Mickelson continue with his winning run? He will be keenly watched at the US Open Shinnecock Hills on June 20.