“If I’m going to win this tournament today, I’m going to have to hit a really good shot under a lot of pressure at some point. I’m going to do it right now.”
Phil Mickelson didn’t whisper those words. He declared them, standing on a bed of pine straw at Augusta National, staring down a nearly impossible shot on the 13th hole during the final round of the 2010 Masters.
He wasn’t trailing. He wasn’t desperate. And he sure as hell didn’t need to take the shot.
But that’s exactly what made it so unforgettable.
A Green Jacket on the Line, and Phil Reaches for the 6-Iron
By the time he got to the 13th tee, Mickelson was right in the hunt for his third Green Jacket. Then came a wild tee shot that veered off into the Georgia pines — the kind of miss that usually forces a chip-out, followed by a wedge, followed by a sigh.
But Phil’s ball was resting (if you could call it that) on a bed of slippery pine straw. Roughly 187 yards out. With Rae’s Creek guarding the front of the green. And two towering pines standing in the way — with a gap “about the width of a box of a dozen balls,” as his longtime caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay put it.
You already know what he should have done. But Phil Mickelson is not wired like the rest of us.
He told Bones he was going for the green.
Let That Sink In: He Chose the Hard Way
There wasn’t panic. There wasn’t overthinking. When Mackay told him K.J. Choi had bogeyed the hole ahead — a detail that could’ve prompted a more conservative decision — Mickelson doubled down:
“I’m going to do it right now.”
It wasn’t arrogance. It was clarity. He knew the moment would come when greatness had to be earned — and he decided to take it on then and there, not later. That kind of self-belief isn’t taught. It’s just… Phil.
Threading the Needle with a 6-Iron
The actual shot? One of the greatest in golf history.
With the lie sitting up on pine straw (a surface where the club can easily slip or dig), Mickelson took a sweeping swing with a 6-iron. The ball launched low, whistled through that narrow window between the trees, carried Rae’s Creek like it had wings, and landed softly on the green.
Three feet from the cup.
Not 30 feet. Not the fringe. Three. Feet.
Even Bones was stunned. Years later, he said television coverage didn’t do it justice. That gap? Basically a dare. The shot? “Arguably the greatest of his career.”
And this is Phil Mickelson we’re talking about — the king of short-game wizardry and wild escapes.
The Moment Augusta Erupted
The crowd around the 13th green exploded. Commentators struggled to put it into words. Golf fans everywhere watched in disbelief. This wasn’t some miracle recovery after a blow-up hole. This was the leader of the Masters going full send with everything on the line.
He missed the eagle putt. But no one cared.
That birdie sealed the momentum. Phil rode it all the way to a bogey-free 67, finishing three shots ahead and walking off with his third Masters title.
Why That Shot Still Echoes
Sure, Phil’s had other jaw-dropping moments: skipping a ball across water at the Tucson Open, holing a flop shot at LIV Virginia, inventing escape routes from places you didn’t think a ball could be hit.
But none carried the same weight as that 6-iron from the straw.
- The stakes were real. He was winning the tournament.
- The risk was ridiculous. A flub, a branch, a pull… any miss could’ve meant disaster.
- The confidence was vintage Phil. “If I’m going to win… I’m going to do it right now.”
This wasn’t a desperate play. It wasn’t trick-shot showmanship. It was a calculated, high-pressure decision by a guy who thrives on playing the game his way.
A lot of players talk about being fearless. Phil showed what it looks like when fear doesn’t even enter the equation.
A Legacy Etched in Pine Straw
It’s hard to define a career as sprawling and unconventional as Mickelson’s with a single moment. But if you had to try — if you had to pick one shot that captured his philosophy, his mindset, his guts — this is it.
That 2010 Masters moment lives on because it wasn’t just impressive. It was pure Phil.
In a sport obsessed with consistency, he chose creativity. In a tournament built around patience, he chased brilliance. And in a moment where most would’ve laid up, he leaned in — hard.
There’s a reason fans still talk about that shot 15 years later.
Because deep down, we all want to believe that sometimes, just sometimes, the risky play pays off.
“If I’m going to win this tournament today, I’m going to have to hit a really good shot under a lot of pressure at some point. I’m going to do it right now.” — Phil Mickelson
