What I'll Remember about 2010: Mickelson's magical moment

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PGATOUR.COM asked its staffers and freelancers what they will remember about the 2010 season. For the archived list of essays, click here.

Most people will remember the shot. You know -- the one Phil Mickelson threaded between those pine trees at the 13th hole on Sunday at Augusta National.

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That ball launched so forcefully off the pinestraw gently settled on the green a mere 4 feet from the hole. Mickelson may not have made the short eagle putt but he certainly served notice that he was the man to beat that day. And nobody did.

Although Jonathan Byrd's walk-off ace to win in Las Vegas is a worthy candidate, Mickelson's 6-iron just may have been the shot of the year given the circumstances. But that's not what I'll remember about the 2011 Masters.

About 90 minutes after Lefty hit that shot I was in the midst of a scrum behind the green scorer's hut, straining to hear Tiger Woods dissect his round. Mickelson, one arm all but wrapped in the sleeve of his third Green Jacket, had just teed off on the 18th hole.

As Woods talked, Mickelson's wife Amy, their kids in tow, quietly made her way between the ropes behind the world No. 1 so she could have a clear view of what transpired on the 18th green. We had wondered if she would be well enough to share in the moment and only then did we have the answer.

Still weak from the relentless medication she was taking to combat breast cancer, Amy had spent most of the day watching the Masters on TV, curled up on the couch in her "jammies," she later would say, under a blanket. She wasn't able to walk the fairways, as she has done for so many of Mickelson's 38 PGA TOUR wins. In fact, this was the first tournament she'd even attended since being diagnosed 10 months earlier.

The embrace Amy and Phil shared after he walked off the 18th green was long and loving, and despite the intrusive glare of the omnipresent TV cameras, for those tender moments it was as almost if no one else existed but the two of them. The emotion everywhere was palpable, though. Mickelson's caddy, Jim (Bones) Mackay, actually had to leave and compose himself before he was able to talk to reporters. Lefty's coach, Butch Harmon, wiped away tears after the two had shared a hug.

Phil held Amy's hand tightly as the two walked past us again and headed toward the Butler Cabin to regroup and ready themselves for the Green Jacket ceremony. Several reporters called out, trying to get her to stop and talk. The normally gregarious blonde looked back, beaming, but continued on her way.

About an hour later, after most of the patrons had headed home, I was standing outside the gleaming white antebellum clubhouse, listening to Bones discuss what may turn out to be his boss' signature victory, his fourth major championship. A golf cart suddenly appeared, chased by photographers, as Mickelson was whisked away to the media center for his post-round interview.

The commotion was so large, the clamor for photographs so intense, I thought for a moment that Amy must have been on the cart with her husband. Assured by a scribe with better eyesight that was not the case, I decided to walk down to the Butler Cabin one last time.

As I approached the sidewalk leading to the front door, I saw Amy standing in the shadow of a magnolia, talking with a single reporter. As I walked up, he was nice enough to step aside so I could join the conversation. She talked about how her phone nearly went haywire; there were so many text messages when Mickelson hit that shot at the 13th hole. Mickelson's muse of 20 years said she could tell from his body language that he was going to go for the green.

"And I like that in him," she said with a serene smile.

When four other sportswriters gathered nearby, held back by well-meaning security, Amy graciously walked over to field their questions, too. Twice Mickelson's manager and former college coach, Steve Loy, tried to come to her rescue but she seemed to want to talk about the momentous afternoon as much as we wanted to listen.

So does she believe in karma, Amy was asked as the interview wound down.

"I'm a big believer in a lot of things right now," she said, taking several deep breaths in a losing battle to compose herself.

And with that, Amy Mickelson summed up more than just the day.