A Major at Fifty

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Phil Mickelson won the PGA major at 50 years old.

I was never a huge fan of Lefty. I don’t know why. I just never truly pulled for him.

Until after the Yankees game on Saturday when I flipped it on and watched a few holes.

Thought about a 50-year old golfer battling all those kids.

He looked a little like he was going to fade on the last few holes. 

I’ve been there. Your body gets fatigued and you start pulling up.

Or the concentration slips for a little while.

Now, I can’t even imagine playing golf at such a level. There’s no way I wouldn’t chunk it 30 yards with all those people standing there.

And the courses they play!

My God!!

Driving it over water with woods and sand traps and every damn other thing surrounding you.

Forget about it.

But man, it felt good to see an old guy win one.

A few of us were sending texts as the round played on.

Mickelson hit a 198-yard six-iron to within 6’ of the cup.

“I hit mine 160-165,” I wrote.

“But nowhere near the cup,” a buddy answered.

It was just a terrific shot but then golf got Lefty too.

“He Poppled it,” Pops wrote, as the ball spun around the hole and hung there.

That’s the sport…

…an amazing, incredible, brilliant swing…

…followed up by…

…a brain-dead, ridiculous, mind-numbing miss.

The quote of yesterday’s round came courtesy of Pops after hole 5.

“I’m two shit shots away from leaving at the turn.”

He was REALLY STRUGGLING!

Then it went:

Par, Birdie, Par, Par (should’ve been a birdie).

He was an absolute marvel for 4 straight holes.

Me?

I’m six years older than Phil.

My back was barking all week. 

Swinging a golf club doesn’t fix back pain.

I thought about it before every swing. “Don’t let it bother you.”

But the body plays D all on its own. I was pulling up, stopping my swing short, and fighting myself the entire day.

“What made you work so hard to get ready for this? You’ve already had a Hall-of-Fame career.”

Phil answered for all the people who tee it up every week. The pros. The up and coming. The clunkers. The seniors. 

All of us.

“I love this game.”

Congrats to the old dog.

Pretty cool.

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