He started the day at seven under par and tied for the lead at the Masters with Chris DeMarco. By the sixth hole he was was four under and out of the lead with South African Ernie Els on top of the leader board. He rallied on the back nine and played falwlessly through one of the most difficult stretches of golf holes in the world capping it with a birdie on sixteen to tie Els for the lead. On eighteen he had eighteen feet of nasty Augusta National green to traverse for a birdie and the victory. The ball dropped in the cup as the crowd around the eigtheenth green exploded in cheers. Phil Mickelson had won the Masters.
Big deal. A professional golfer won a tournament. So what!? Next to the United States Open and the British Open, the Masters is THE most presitigious tournament in the world. It is called a major. And therein is the rub. Phil Mickelson became the most recent professional golfer to be huing with the title "Best Golfer Never To Have Won A Major." He entered the Masters with twenty-two PGA Tour wins but no majors. He felt he was due when he teed it up Sunday at Augusta National.
Augusta National is one of two golf venues that host a major championship every year and rightly so. It is the creation of the legendary Bobby Jones, perhaps the finest golfer ever to play the game. At Augusta National the golfing legends of years gone by have tested their mettle and come up short. To win at Augusta is to become a part of major golf history.
Phil Mickelson is now a part of that history. Robert Collier once wrote, "In the moment that you carry this conviction...in that moment your dreams will become a reality." Phil Mickelson has been working hard this year to be the best golfer he can be. That is his conviction. To win the Masters? That has been his dream. Now his dream is a reality and his life is changed forever.
There was a little man who wanted to see Jesus. He found out Jesus was coming to Jericho so he joined the crowds but was so short he couldn't see over them. So he climbed up into a tree for a better vantage point. Jesus saw him. "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house." Luke 19:5 That day changed Zacchaeus' life as he corrected past mistakes. Jesus declared, "Today salvation has come to this house." Luke 19:9 Commitment to a dream leads to reality. Make Jesus the focus of your commitment and He'll become your reality...forever.