The good guy won!
Phil Mickelson — who once put his career on hold to care for his cancer-stricken wife — yesterday beat out serial philanderer Tiger Woods to don Augusta’s famed green jacket.
Mickelson captured his third Masters title by holding off four-time champ Woods, whose own tattered public image stood in stark, embarrassing contrast to the tournament winner.
Dubbed “Lefty” on the links, Mickelson, 39, finished in style, rolling in a birdie putt on the 18th hole.
He triumphantly raised both arms, hugged his caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay, and then walked toward the scoring hut and straight into the arms of his beaming wife, Amy.
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“I don’t normally shed tears over wins, and when Amy and I hugged off 18, that was a very emotional moment for us and something that I’ll look back on and just cherish,” he said.
The golfer’s proud mom, Mary Mickelson, is also fighting breast cancer.
Mickelson didn’t go into great detail about his wife’s treatment, but said she’s often feeling weak from medication.
“We are fortunate long term, but the meds that [Amy’s] been taking has been very difficult, and she didn’t feel well and she doesn’t have energy,” he said. “This means so much to us to be able to share this.”
His wife’s mere presence yesterday was an inspiration to Mickelson.
“I was just really glad she was there,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if she was going to be there today. I knew she would be watching. I didn’t know if she would be behind 18. To walk off the green and share that with her is very emotional for us.”
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In solidarity with the two women he loves most, Mickelson has the image of a pink ribbon — the symbol of the fight against breast cancer — stitched into the side of his hat.
“She’s an incredible wife and an incredible mother,” Mickelson said of his spouse. “She’s been an inspiration for me this year. I’m so glad she and [our] three kids are here.”
Mickelson and his wife announced last year that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She had surgery in July.
It wasn’t a perfect weekend for the Mickelson family — their 10-year-old daughter Amanda had a splint put on her wrist Saturday night after a roller-skating fall.
After finishing the 18th hole, Mickelson scooped his daughter and joyfully told her: “Daddy won! Can you believe it?”
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Meanwhile, Tiger’s long-suffering wife, Elin Nordegren, was a Masters no-show.
Woods had even rented a nearby house for his wife in the hopes she’d come and watch him play at the storied Georgia course, but she never did.
The Masters was her husband’s first competitive golf event since the sensational disclosure of his multiple extramarital affairs.
Tiger’s dysfunctional family unit only made Mickelson’s triumph all the more dramatic.
Even Lefty’s closest rival, second-place finisher Lee Westwood, tipped his cap to the Masters champ and poignantly said Mickelson and his family deserved the chance to smile.
“He’s been through hard times recently,” Westwood said. “He deserves a break or two.”
Woods said he wasn’t happy finishing in a tie for fourth place with K.J. Choi.
“Yeah, I finished fourth, not what I wanted,” Tiger snarled.
Woods wasn’t heckled at all by the famously respectful Augusta crowd, and he didn’t look nervous at any time.
But he was never able to kick his game into high gear for any extended number of holes. He finished 11 under par.
“I wanted to win this tournament, and as the week went on, I kept hitting the ball worse,” Woods whined. “I hit better on Friday, but after that, it was not very good.”
In reality, Woods was consistent, carding a 68 on Thursday followed by rounds of 70, 70, and a final-round 69 yesterday.
“I entered this event, and I enter to win, and I didn’t get it done,” Woods said.
“I didn’t hit the ball good enough and made too many mistakes around the greens . . . consequently, I’m not there.”
Woods, 34, urged fans not to read into his psyche or moods.
“I think people are making way too much of a big deal of this thing,” he said.
The shamed golfer said he’ll now take some time off before deciding when his next tournament will be.
“I’m going to take a little time off and kind of re-evaluate things,” he said.