Phil Mickelson

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Phil Mickelson seemed destined for more frustration yesterday in the 68th Masters. The player known for not winning major championships - and losing a number of them - appeared headed in that miserable direction again. Something altered Mickelson's fate during the final round at Augusta National. It was the kind of divine spirit that often presents itself on the back nine, floating down from behind the Georgia pines. With five birdies on the back nine, including an 18-foot putt on the final hole, Mickelson overcame a momentary three-shot deficit to beat Ernie Els of South Africa in one of the most thrilling major championships.

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Life is so simple when you aim for the middle of the fairway, when you stop crushing and start aiming, when you open your eyes and look. Maybe that's why Phil Mickelson's time has come. Yesterday, at the 11th tee, Mickelson stopped and spread a white towel onto the green grass. He was in the lead at this Masters, holding a 6-under, one-stroke lead over Chris DiMarco. But everything was OK. Mickelson sat down, crossed his legs and slowly stretched. Ahead of him, Ernie Els was rooting around in the woods off to the right of the fairway.

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Sleeping on the lead going into the final round of a major golf championship is much like trying to get a few winks before your wedding day: You hope to rest enough so that you don't trip going down the aisle. Phil Mickelson, who has spent a star-crossed career catching golf's bouquets without winning a single major tournament, took half of this proverbial bed last night here in the 68th Masters at Augusta National while Chris DiMarco plopped onto the other side of this often lumpy mattress.

In subtle ways, Mike Weir's playoff victory in last year's Masters reverberated far beyond the little Georgia town that the world pays attention to one week a year. History was made in Augusta, as a different kind of minority had won the Masters. Weir, 33, who grew up outside Toronto, not only became the first Canadian to win a major championship, but he also became the first left-hander in 40 years to win one of golf's four Grand Slam events. All over the world, a growing but distinctly small species - the left-handed golfer - hailed Weir's victory.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Considering their resumes and world rankings, Shaun Micheel and Chad Campbell should be reminded that they're playing in the 85th PGA Championship at venerable Oak Hill Country Club, not in some mini-tour event in the middle of nowhere. Considering what Micheel and Campbell have done through three rounds of the year's last major championship, and what most of the world's top players haven't accomplished on one of golf's most difficult courses, you have to wonder how long their magic will last.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Yesterday's second round of the 85th PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club turned into the saga of two left-handers whose careers are going in different directions. Mike Weir, who used the tough lesson he learned four years ago in this tournament at Medinah to help him win his first major title four months ago at the Masters, showed why he is quickly becoming one of the world's best players. Phil Mickelson, who hasn't seemed to learn from the mistakes he has made at countless majors throughout his 11-year career, demonstrated again why he hasn't won in more than a year and currently has the longest streak of frustration in golf's biggest events.

SUTTON COLDFIELD, England - Gentlemen, start your second-guessing. Now that the Ryder Cup is staying here on the continent, we need answers to a few vital questions, and we need them quickly. For instance ... How could Phil Mickelson lose to Phillip Price? What happened to the singles party the United States planned? How could the U.S. team win two, yes, only two singles matches yesterday with the identities of those two players being Scott Verplank and David Toms? Did Sam Torrance outfox Curtis Strange by stacking the first part of his lineup with his best players?

Results, pairings Europe 4 1/2 , U.S. 3 1/2 Fourballs (Europe 3, U.S. 1) Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn, Europe, def. Tiger Woods and Paul Azinger, U.S., 1 up. Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood, Europe, def. David Duval and Davis Love III, U.S., 4 and 3. Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer, Europe, def. Jim Furyk and Scott Hoch, U.S., 4 and 3. Phil Mickelson and David Toms, U.S., def. Padraig Harrington and Niclas Fasth, Europe, 1 up. Foursomes ...

Hale Irwin and Tom Kite were critical of Bruce Fleisher's absence from last week's U.S. Open in New York, saying the reigning U.S. Senior Open champion's appearance would have aided the health of the senior tour. "They were saying that I was our best representative since I won the [Senior] Open," Fleisher said yesterday, speculating that Irwin and Kite's comments were probably misconstrued a bit. "In all fairness, I felt like I couldn't be competitive on that course, and I said, `Why play?

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. - Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia found themselves in familiar positions last night as they walked off the 18th green of the Black Course at Bethpage State Park after the 102nd U.S. Open. Both players were congratulating Tiger Woods. While Mickelson has beaten Woods in a couple of regular PGA Tour events, and Garcia defeated Woods in a made-for-television match a couple of years ago, neither did so here. Mickelson, who turned 32 yesterday, finished second, three shots behind after shooting an even-par 70. Garcia, 22, finished fourth, six shots behind after a 4-over 74 left him at 3-over par 283. "I don't know if this is the proudest event I've ever played, but this was certainly not a disappointing day today," said Mickelson, still seeking his first major championship.