Saturday, November 17, 2007

One Magical Read: Mickelson's First Major

I recently finished One Magical Sunday (But Winning Isn't Everything), Phil Mickelson's account of his first Major Championship, The 2004 Masters. The book was very interesting in that each chapter was a different hole in Sunday's final round. Phil starts each chapter by describing the hole, his strategy and a shot-by-shot recounting of how he actually played it. It then leads into a narrative of Phil's life, from his introduction to golf, his childhood, his focus on becoming a PGA Tour Pro, meeting and marrying Amy, the birth of his children, his philosophies on parenthood, and his life on tour. One unique feature is that as Phil tells his stories, recollections from his family, Amy, her family, his daughters, his caddy Jim "Bones" Mackay, his former college coach and current agent Steve Loy, and his coaches Dave Pelz and Rick Smith, are interspersed. A short read (only 200 pages), it is a unique and fun look at one of the most popular players in golf.