Gentleman Phil proves class is permanent

I DON’T know what you had for your dinner last night but I, for one, was not served up a four-course delight of Spanish cuisine of which Filete de Res Mignon Pimento Ahumado Demi Glace was the high point.

Then again, I’m not a Masters champion and so don’t have Phil Mickelson doing my ordering. Those select few who were at Augusta National last evening and were treated, as is the tradition, to the defending champion’s choice of menu, heard Mickelson use the opportunity to pay tribute to one of the former winners who could not be there.

Two-time champion Seve Ballesteros, the swashbuckling Spaniard, was at home in his native Cantabria, where he is dealing with the brain cancer that has left him unable to travel. His loss to the game, even as a mere presence at such events, is heartfelt and Mickelson should be applauded for his tribute, however trivial it may seem, in laying on the gazpacho and paella, the beef tenderloin with manchango cheese and the Spanish apple pie.