Family matters make this Masters victory extra-special for Mickelsons

As much as Amy Mickelson wanted to be in the gallery Sunday, she knew she couldn't walk 18 holes. So she watched on TV – until her husband began his back-nine charge. Then, Amy told Helen Ross, it was time for a most welcome return to Augusta National.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Amy Mickelson started crying when she saw her husband make birdie on the 12th hole Sunday afternoon.

"That's when I kind of saw him take control," she explained as the shadows began to settle over the Augusta National about an hour after Phil Mickelson won his third Green Jacket.

The petite blonde with the million-dollar smile would normally have been in Mickelson's gallery as he chased his fourth major championship at the Masters. Amy would have chatted with reporters outside the ropes and made the patrons feel like long-lost friends.

For nearly a year, though, Amy has been battling breast cancer, and while the long-term prognosis is good, the medications have taken their toll. So she was back in the house they rented, watching the final round on TV with her mom and her three kids.

"I've been trying to stay at the house and rest so that I wouldn't get sick," Amy explained.  "If I had come out here, it probably would have been too much. I wanted Phil to focus on winning the Masters this week ... and not worry if I was sick or out here walking and wasn't doing well."

The family had arrived Tuesday so the kids could caddy for their father in the Par 3 Contest. Mickelson spent mornings with 8-year-old Sophia playing chess at a local coffee shop. And late Saturday night he was doing daddy duty at a local doctor's office after 10-year-old Amanda had fallen while roller-skating and suffered a hairline fracture in her wrist.

Mickelson clearly thrived on the normalcy his family brought to his vagabond life this week. The five hadn't been together on the road since THE PLAYERS Championship, just weeks before Amy's diagnosis and about a month before his mother Mary found out she, too, had the same disease. He was in his element, and it showed.

"This has been a very special day and a very special week," Mickelson said. "And to have Amy and my kids here to share it with, I can't put into words. It just feels incredible, especially given what we've been through in the last year -- to be able to share this kind of joy means a lot to us." 

As much as she had wanted to be in his gallery at Augusta National on Sunday, though, Amy knew she couldn't make all 18 holes. So she settled down on a couch in front of the TV. "I had my blanket and my jammies on and I was ready to watch every shot," she said. 

She watched the CBS broadcast until Phil birdied the 13th hole, which is her husband's favorite and proved so pivotal on Sunday. At that point she and her mom and Jen Mackay, the wife of Mickelson's caddy Bones, packed the kids into the car and headed for the Augusta National.

Before they left, though, Amy saw the daring shot Mickelson hit off the pine straw at the par 5 they call Azalea. He threaded the ball through the trees and onto the green, some 4 feet for eagle. So what if he missed the putt and had to settle for birdie? The shot will still go down in Masters lore.

"Of course, my phone's been ding, ding, ding, ding, ding with all the texts and phone calls all day," Amy recalled. "When he hit that shot, I think it dinged, I don't know, 30 times. I think I got I don't know how many messages -- everybody being like, Amy, best shot I've ever seen. Win, lose, hand's down, best shot ever."

Before the announcers had begun to analyze his options, Amy said she knew Phil wasn't going to lay up on the par 5. They've been together nearly 20 years and his body language was clear. He was going for it, and "I like that in him," she said with a smile.
 
"I know sometimes people say it's a mistake or why did he do that but I don't. I believe in him and I've seen shots like that win him so many tournaments. ... I knew he wasn't coming out today to try to finish second. There were birdies out there. You could hear the roars.

"You could even hear them on TV. Even from the house, we were saying, where did that roar sound like it was? Phil said it felt very much like the old Augusta. It's been a little quiet the last few years and he said this week it really felt like there were birdies to be had."

Amy and her brood, along with Mickelson's parents and his brother, Tim, were standing behind the 18th green when he made his final birdie to cap off a round of 67 and a three-stroke win. They'd been quietly whisked inside the ropes -- seemlessly passing behind Tiger Woods as he was talking with reporters -- to watch the final moments unfold.

"I didn't really want to look up because I knew I'd get choked up if I saw her," Bones said. "When Lee's birdie putt slid past and I saw her, I was a bit of a puddle then. It was great."

Imagine, then, what Mickelson thought as he saw her waiting in front of the scorer's hut with the rest of his family, swing coach Butch Harmon and his agent, Steve Loy. As cameras flashed brightly in their faces, Mickelson headed straight for his wife.

"I don't know if we said anything, we just hugged," Mickelson said. "We just hugged. ... I don't normally shed tears over wins, and ... that was a very emotional moment for us and something that I'll look back on and just cherish.

"I'll cherish every moment of this week."
 
Bones was so emotional he had to walk away from the scene behind the 18th green to compose himself before talking with reporters. Harmon turned away and wiped tears from his cheeks after he and his prize student embraced.

About 20 minutes later at the Green Jacket ceremony on the practice green, Mickelson's voice caught as he mentioned the challenges his family had faced over the last 11 months. And when someone asked Amy if she believed in karma, she didn't hold back.

"I'm a believer in a lot of things right now," Amy said.

She seemed to want to say more, but the emotion was simply too raw. Amy cast her eyes toward the ground outside the Butler Cabin and took several deep breaths, trying to compose herself,  before her husband's manager stepped in to her rescue.

The mood quickly lightened. But we all knew what she meant.