Move Over Tiger ... At Least For The Moment

In case you haven't heard Tiger played in his first tournament in more than five months this past weekend, at the Masters.

It was impossible to tell exactly how he would play going into the tournament. Many had the man who is still the top-ranked golfer in the world missing the cut; just as many had him winning the whole thing.

Tiger's first trip to the tee was a bit unsettling for all involved. The fans however provided their unrelenting support for Woods, and he returned the favor with a great tee shot down the middle; Tiger Woods was back.

By Sunday, Tiger was in contention, just four strokes off the lead. Whether you had Tiger as the favorite or missing the cut, you had to be surprised that he could actually win this thing. Just a couple weeks after he wasn't sure if he would come back for the rest of the year, here he was on Sunday, at the biggest golf tournament in the world, with the possibility of winning.

We had seen Tiger in this position way too many times before. A couple of strokes off of the lead going into the final day of a tournament, and the golfers ahead of him shaking in their boots. Tiger proceeds to chew them up and spit them up en route to a successful Sunday and a championship. That's just the way it worked.

But this Sunday was different. The scene was set as usual. Tiger a couple strokes back in a major, wearing his red Nike polo, black pants, black loafers and black Nike hat. But Tiger didn't convert under the pressure. His start to the day was god awful, and throughout the day he continued to have trouble trying to work the kinks out of his swing.

Tiger has mounted the Sunday comeback so many times that we almost expect him to do it every time he's witing reach of winning. Even Tiger called his play on Sunday and in the tournament a "dissapointment."

In reality, his poor play and the implications of it were dissapointing. There was no Tiger fist-pump, no green jacket. There were some bright spots: a holed-in eagle from the 7th hole fairway, and a wild shot from the woods onto the green at 11 provided some relief, but just went you thought that these shots would get Tiger going, nothing happened.

That's because Tiger isn't the old Tiger yet. It was as if those new designer sunglasses he was wearing were holding him back. It wasn't the unfiltered, tempermental, passionate Tiger we're used to seeing. This Tiger was reserved; he'd play his ball and put his shades right back on. It was as almost if the shades represented the cage that was withholding the Tiger we loved from us, taming the animal we've seen rip competitors to shreds.

Tiger's spot on top of the world of golf isn't being left vacant though. Phil "Lefty" Mickelson is happy to fill it, if only temporarily, and it showed in his play.

With Phil's victory, many are turning immediately to the good guy defeating the bad guy scenario. Phil took care of his wife when she had breast cancer, Tiger cheated on his wife with numerous women. Immediately after the Masters reports of infidelity between Amy and Phil sprouted up, but they are totally unproven. I guess everyone assumes that every successful golfer is unfaithful after Tiger.

But, this isn't about a villain falling as much as it is a hero rising though. Tiger has been under constant criticism for the past several months, but from the moment he walked up to that first tee, it was time for the audience to just let sports be sports and nothing more. There is no need to villainize Tiger anymore than he has been already; we have had the last several months for that. Sports is a place for competitive drama, not high school drama.

Root against Tiger if you want too, but there is no need to see his loss as the villain taking the hit, especially because quite frankly, a 4th place finish in a major tournament, especially when it's your first tournament back is nothing to scoff at.

What the audience should be concerned about is not Tiger, but Phil. Mickelson came into Sunday in second place, down one stroke to leader Lee Westwood. And instead of choking like he had always done up to and even in some moments after his first major championship victory at the 2004 Masters, Phil came through and played like a champion.

Phil dominated the course, shooting 5 under on the day, for the second day in a row, putting him at 16 under at one of the toughest courses in all of golf.

He hit some wild shots, not only wildly good, but also wildly bad, having to hit out of the woods a couple of times after some poor drives. But all of this together provided the excitement we're used to only seeing from Tiger.

He even had the Tiger fist pump working a little bit throughout the round.

Then on that last hole, when that final putt finally dropped in, and Mickelson had won his third Masters, he went over to his wife, who was attending her first tournament in a year, and hugged her. The only other moment to really top the emotion of that was Tiger hugging his wife after his 2006 British Open victory, his first major win after the passing of his father.

Phil was the new Tiger during that Masters. He played better than anyone else throughout the tournament, and truly played like a champion. Although Phil has always been known to play exciting golf, and as one to never lay up, he had never really been the premier player at a tournament, especially a major. This mixed with the emotion caused by his wife being in attendance made for the perfect victory formula.

It's enjoyable for the moment. Someone other than Tiger Woods is getting the spotlight in golf. And no one deserves it more than Phil. But Tiger is bound to be back on the prowl and soon.

The proof is in the pudding. After months without participating in competitive play, Tiger came to the Masters and finished fourth among the best competition in the world, and with a score of 11 under at the one of the toughest golf courses in the world.

And he didn't even look good doing it. Tiger had 14 bogies throughout the tournament and his rust showed, as he struggled with his swing. But that's how you tell the best of the best; even if they play poorly, they still manage to put up good numbers, even without playing close to their best, they almost are the best.

But, we've seen enough of Tiger over the past few months, and we will certainly continue to see him over the next few years and probably even decades. So, how about for now we don't try to make Tiger the villain. Let's just remember that Phil was the hero.