Impressive victories on
their respective sides of the Atlantic showed that Phil Mickelson and Colin Montgomerie
are still capable of winning on any given week - as long as that given week doesn't
include a major.
The timing of Mickelson's
victory at the Greater Hartford Open provided more fodder for those who think
he only thrives away from the suffocating pressure of a major championship.
It was his fourth victory
in a tournament sandwiched around a major.
Mickelson won the BellSouth
Classic the week before last year's Masters, then got blown away in the third
round at Augusta and wound up eight strokes behind. The other two victories were
his first tournament after a major - the '93 International, and the '98 Pebble
Beach Pro-Am, which was completed in August the day after the PGA Championship.
Timing, indeed, is everything.
But to declare that Mickelson
will never win a major is premature. He only seems older than 31 because success
came so early in his career.
And to question Mickelson's
ability under the gun is to forget recent history.
The Tour Championship is
far from a major, but the stakes were high at East Lake last November. Mickelson
was faced with trying to track down Tiger Woods in the final round, something
no one had done over a span of four years and 19 tournaments.
He did just that, closing
with a 66 for a two-stroke victory.
Earlier that year, the
Buick Invitational in San Diego contained as much electricity as some majors because
Woods was going for his seventh straight PGA Tour victory. The pressure really
picked up when Woods made up seven strokes in seven holes to tie Mickelson for
the lead with five holes to play.
How did Mickelson respond?
With back-to-back birdies, winning by four strokes.
True, he hasn't proven
anything in the majors.
The U.S. Open at Southern
Hills was the sixth major in which Mickelson was within two strokes of the lead
going into the final round. Those should not be considered outright failures,
not in the same vein as a Greg Norman.
Mickelson was never in
the lead after 54 holes. In three U.S. Open chances, he needed a final round score
under par, which is no small task. In three Masters opportunties, he would have
required at least 66 to win.
As long as he keeps giving
himself chances, Lefty will get it right.
Fred Couples, Payne Stewart,
Ben Crenshaw, Vijay Singh and Nick Price were all older than Mickelson when they
won their first major. Only in the amazing era of Woods are players considered
washed up before reaching their prime.
The question facing Montgomerie
is whether he already is past his prime.
The 38-year-old Scot went
56 weeks without winning on the European tour, a circuit he reigned for seven
straight years. His personal life had been in turmoil, his confidence at an all-time
low. That's what made winning the Irish Open so special.
''I've had an awful good
look at myself in the last eight months and I am a better person now,'' he said.
''I feel I can go forward.''
The next step remains winning
a major championship.
Montgomerie has gone 16
consecutive majors without being in serious contention. His best years are behind
him, although the task is not impossible. Only three years ago, Mark O'Meara won
his first major at 41 in the Masters, then won the British Open to become the
oldest player to win two majors in one season.
Montgomerie is Europe's
version of Tom Kite - a top player year after year. Kite won his first major,
the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, when he was 42.
Still, history is not on
Monty's side.
Dating to 1934 when the
Masters came aboard, only 10 players have won their first major when they were
38 or older. Clearly, time is running out on Montgomerie.
But not on Mickelson. And
not on 29-year-old David Duval, the other player in the dreadful ''best to have
never won a major'' category.
No doubt, having Woods
around leaves fewer chances to win a major. Still, 31 is hardly the age to write
someone off.
Success also came early
to the young Spaniard. He took Woods to the wire in the '99 PGA Championship and
became the youngest player in Ryder Cup history, going 3-1-1.
A year later, he was asked
during the U.S. Open whether he was starting to feel pressure to win his first
major.
Garcia stared back in disbelief.
''I'm 20 years old,'' he
said. ''I'm going to play a lot of majors, and hopefully I'll be lucky enough
to win some of them. I don't know when it's going to come.''
According to today's expectations,
it won't come soon enough.
