“Oh, it almost went in!”
The gallery surrounding this final pairing erupts, as Mickelson’s ball dances around the hole and stops just next to it. If you were playing a round with buddies, this one would be considered “inside the leather” — a gimme birdie if there ever was one. Mickelson, though, appears more than happy to wait, as Woods runs his 25-footer about four feet past the hole, then cleans up his par. That leaves the stage open for Lefty, as he taps in for an early two-stroke lead to thunderous applause once again.
It’s difficult to gauge the crowd ratio of Phil supporters to Tiger supporters, probably because a Venn Diagram would show plenty of overlap between the two. Unlike, say, a football game, where nearly everyone in attendance is rooting for one team or the other, most golf fans simply want to witness great shots — and if they come from a well-known superstar, even better.
While many of the spectators in attendance might have a preference toward one or the other, they’re all going to boisterously cheer great shots from either one.
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Right now, it just seems like a partisan crowd in favor of Mickelson, just because they’re celebrating his birdie, but that could change at any moment.
In fact, in just a few moments, it does.
Woods makes a routine birdie on the par-5 second hole, rolling in a 10-footer to move to within one stroke of Mickelson, who could only manage a par.
The gallery now feels pro-Tiger, but only because he gave ‘em more to cheer about.
It continues this way for the next handful of holes. Phil one-ups Tiger, the crowd goes crazy. Tiger one-ups Phil, the crowd still goes crazy.
You know you’re a first-timer here at the Masters, and you love the idea of supporting both players, but it still feels a bit wrong, like holding every ticket in a raffle. As much as you love the idea of applauding both champions, you feel like you need to pick just one of ‘em for the remainder of the round.
- Root for Tiger — and only Tiger — the rest of the way.
- Root for Phil — and only Phil — the rest of the way.
