Mickelson savors his first major

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The short trip down Magnolia Lane ends with a circular drive in front of the Augusta National clubhouse, and that's where it all might finally sink in for Phil Mickelson.

Only the Masters champions are allowed upstairs in their private locker room.

Everyone else enters through a side door on the ground level.

Suddenly, Mickelson's career is looking up.

Despite winning 22 times on the PGA Tour and routinely dazzling galleries with shots most guys can't even picture, Mickelson's record always carried an asterisk, if not a label: best player to never win a major.

Now, Mickelson is one of the best players, period.

All it took was a back nine Sunday that ranks among the best performances in the 68-year history of the Masters. He birdied five of the last seven holes, including an 18-foot putt on No. 18 for a one-shot victory over Ernie Els. It was only the fourth walkoff birdie to win a green jacket, and it was the most dramatic of them all.

This was John Elway finally winning the Super Bowl.

It was Dale Earnhardt winning the Daytona 500.

"Having come so close so many times ... to have it be such a difficult journey to win my first major makes it that much more special, sweeter," Mickelson said. "And it just feels awesome."

Mickelson did not have the toughest or the longest road to his first major championship.

Tom Kite was a 16-time winner with two PGA Tour money titles. He had the 54-hole lead at the '84 Masters and the '89 U.S. Open and collapsed both times, with final rounds of 75 and 78. He finally ended his 0-for-67 streak in the majors by winning at Pebble Beach in the '92 U.S. Open.

Mark O'Meara had 14 titles and was 0-for 56 in the majors until he won the '98 Masters, then added the British Open at Royal Birkdale later that summer.

That became the pinnacle of their careers. Kite was 42, O'Meara was 41.

Mickelson turns 34 in June, approaching the prime of his career.

When he lost the 2001 PGA Championship in Atlanta by one shot to David Toms, the frustration was starting to show. Mickelson said he didn't want to win one major, but a bunch of them.

Draped in a size 43-long green jacket, still trying to sort through the raw joy of winning his first major, Mickelson wasn't ready to look too far ahead.

"Well, one isn't really a bunch, but it's a nice start," he said. "I hope it does lead to more, but right now I just want to cherish this one."