Relatively Speaking, Mickelson Did Fine

Tina Mickelson posed the question to her mom Sunday on the 17th hole at Augusta National.

“You know,” she said, “what would it be like if Tiger was not born in the same era? If Tiger could be 10 now, where would Phil be?”

Where indeed would Phil Mickelson be without Tiger Woods in the mix?

It is pure conjecture, of course, but he probably would be the world’s No. 1-ranked player, instead of settling for No. 2.

He probably would have posted more than the 20 PGA Tour victories currently on his resume--and he might even have bagged a major championship or two.

Maybe then there wouldn’t be so much criticism leveled his way. People are not so quick to judge the best there is.

These are some of the things going through the mind of Mickelson’s only sister.

As a teaching pro at Riverwalk Golf Course in San Diego, Tina Mickelson, 33, obviously knows the game. And being admittedly protective of both of her younger brothers--Tim Mickelson, 24, is an assistant golf coach at San Diego State--she feels for Phil as only a sibling can.

The point has been raised repeatedly this week that Mickelson, 31, is now 0 for 39 in majors. She sees it this way: He has 15 top-10 finishes in majors, which is more success than most players can even dream of attaining.

Critics say Mickelson is too aggressive and that the risks he takes are a large part of what is keeping him from becoming a truly great player. She says his aggressive style of play, while costly at times, is also what earned him so much success.

“He takes shots that other people would not normally take because they don’t have those shots in their bag,” she said. “Phil has never taken a shot that he wasn’t confident he could make. And God help the person who comes up to me and wants to start a debate about all of this.”

Which takes us to Sunday. Ironically, Mickelson was in a position where he had to play aggressively if he was going to catch Woods, who started the final round four strokes ahead and in a tie for the lead with Retief Goosen.

Between them were Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia. All were aware of Woods’ impeccable record in these situations; they needed birdies on a day they would be especially hard to come by, given the length of the course and the tough pin placements.

Mickelson fared better than those ahead of him, and for the most part matched Woods shot for shot, ultimately carding the same score, a 71. Had he not stumbled with bogeys on Nos. 3 and 4, had a few more putts fallen, and had Woods not chipped in at No. 6, the gap might have been closed considerably.

It seemed unfair to lump Mickelson, who finished third, with Singh, Els and Garcia as players who caved under the pressure generated by the mere presence of Woods atop the leaderboard Sunday.

But there he was lumped, and Tina Mickelson, standing there with her mom, could hear the disparaging remarks blowing in the wind.

“Phil has been criticized for being too aggressive and now the big topic is that everybody cowered under the pressure and was not aggressive enough,” she said. “You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”

And so that’s the way the ball bounces where the Mickelsons are concerned. But at least there is the support of an extended family to fall back on. The Masters is their version of the annual family vacation. This year, the gathering numbered 13, which some might consider unlucky.

Phil foots the bill for the rental home and hires a cook so he doesn’t have to deal with the public. In the house, there is one unwritten rule: No talking about golf.

“This is the one week that our family spends most of its time together,” Tina Mickelson said. “We go out and watch him play and then we usually stay home and watch TV at night. Of course, Phil is in an entirely different mind frame than the rest of us. It’s not like I can go up to him and discuss boyfriend problems or anything, because he has so many other things on his mind.”

Major things, no doubt.

The Shark Bites

“The Par Report” on Greg Norman’s Web site, www.shark.com, talks about Woods’ domination and suggests that the only hope for the rest of the tour is that Woods marries his girlfriend, Swedish model Erin Nordegren, and gets distracted by family life.

It goes on to refer to those chasing Tiger on Sunday as “the Masters of disaster.” How soon those in Norman’s corner seem to forget who the real master of that is. On a certain Sunday in 1996 it was Norman who squandered a six-stroke lead, shooting a 78 and losing by five to Nick Faldo.

Not So Fast

Michael Wilbon of ESPN on the prospect of a Woods-Nordegren union: “If I’m Tiger, the word marriage is not entering my vocabulary for the next 10 years at least, and if any woman in a seat in my car said ‘marriage’ on a date, I would hit the Buick ejector [button] ... gone!”

To this Tony Kornheiser replied, “You don’t really think he drives a Buick, do you?”

Money Player

An unidentified individual or group submitted the winning bid of $425,000 on eBay for a round of golf with Woods at his home course, Islesworth, in Windermere, Fla.

The auction, which ended Sunday, benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation. The package includes 18 holes of golf, lunch, a picture with Woods and an autographed item for members of the foursome.

Bubba Steps

Reigning U.S. Amateur champion Ben “Bubba” Dickerson announced this week that he is turning pro. Dickerson, who left the University of Florida in January and will turn 21 next month, will make his professional debut April 25-28 at the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic, playing on a sponsor exemption.

Dickerson missed the cut at the Masters but was one of the longest hitters with an average drive of 293.5 yards.

Birdies, Bogeys and Pars

Hal Linden, Jamie Farr, Bruce Jenner, Alan Thicke, Ann Meyers, Norm Crosby and Tom Dreesen are among the celebrities scheduled to play in the Tom Sullivan Blind Children’s Center tournament May 6 at Riviera Country Club. Details: (760) 632-7770.... The Nike Golf Long Beach Festival, a series of eight tournaments for amateurs, pros, men, women, juniors and seniors, will begin with the senior amateur May 15-17 at El Dorado, Skylinks and Recreation Park. The final event is the $150,000 Long Beach Open July 25-28 at El Dorado and Recreation Park. Details: (562) 494-2850....

The UCLA Golf Camp, open to boys and girls age 9-18, is scheduled June 23-28 and July 14-18 at the Doral Resort at Desert Princess Country Club in Palm Springs. Details: (310) 206-3550.... This year’s Battle at Bighorn is scheduled July 29 at Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Springs. The alternate-shot match pits Woods and Jack Nicklaus against Garcia and Lee Trevino. For ticket information call (760) 341-4653. ABC will televise the event from 5-8 p.m.

Thomas Bonk is on vacation.