Why finishing outside top 10 won’t bother Mickelsons

IT’S not all about winning and losing.

Sometimes the moments that stand out are the human ones.

Phil Mickelson waited at the bottom of the ninth fairway for the green to clear when he looked over to his left and broke into a big smile. He touched two fingers to his eyes, then pointed them toward a blond woman in a royal blue dress.

Amy Mickelson laughed and waved back.

“I can’t believe how much I’ve missed this place,” she said Friday.

Her time at the Masters last year was short, yet sweeter than ever. On a golf course for the first time since being diagnosed with breast cancer 11 months earlier, she came out to the 18th green to watch her husband make one last birdie to win a third green jacket.

Their embrace outside the scoring hut provided one of the most compelling images of the Masters. On Friday, the couple added another.

This year has been just as enjoyable, even as Mickelson squandered several good birdie chances and had to settle for a 72, leaving him well behind in his pursuit of another win.

She feels good enough, strong enough, to be back amid the beauty of Augusta National. She walked 18 holes while being constantly interrupted by fans who welcomed her back, wished her the best or just wanted to say they were thinking of her.

“We love this place,” she said.

“This place has been a part of some of the most special days of our lives. And it feels normal to be back, which is even better. I’m trying not focus on how I feel, because I still have some ups and downs.’’

She spent all week last year in Augusta, but rarely left the house.

Even so, Mickelson felt at peace having his wife and three children with him at the Masters. They were watching the final round when Mickelson, leading by one shot, put his tee shot into the Georgia pines to the right of the fairway on the par-5 13th. Then came the signature shot of last year’s Masters — Mickelson going for the green from the pine straw, through a gap in the trees, the ball barely clearing Rae’s Creek and settling four feet away.

The only other tournament she attended this year was the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, a short drive from their home. That was his best event of the year until he won last week at the Houston Open.

Asked about seeing his wife in the gallery at the Masters for the first time in two years, Mickelson said with a smile.

“Yeah, I’m going to go up and have lunch with her.’’

Somehow, finishing outside the top 10 this time round, didn’t really matter to the Mickelsons.