Golf Channel’s Steve Sands is covering his 23rd Masters this week. Of course, every chance you get to step foot on property at Augusta National is special — but no one ever forgets their first time.
For Sands, that came back in 2004. Still with the Golf Channel at the time, he was on-site conducting player interviews prior to their rounds all week. And, thanks to his relationship with Phil Mickelson, he was able to snag time with him each day prior to his round.
Heading into the final round, Mickelson found himself tied atop the leaderboard with Chris DiMarco. And when he arrived at Augusta prior to his round, Sands asked once again if he’d be willing to do an interview with Golf Channel.
“I give him the puppy dog eyes and ask, ‘Wanna do it again?’” Sands says. “He goes, ‘Ah man, you know it’s Sunday, I gotta focus.’ I say, ‘No problem.’”
A few moments later, though, Mickelson came back out of the clubhouse.
“He goes, ‘You guys ready to do it now?’” Sands says. “He said, ‘I’m superstitious. I’ve played well the first three days. We’ve done it three days in a row. There’s no way I couldn’t do it.’”
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As most golf fans will recall, that Sunday was a career-changing day for Mickelson. Later that afternoon, he birdied the 18th hole to capture the green jacket and break his major drought.
The day was a career-changer for Sands, too.
“I’m telling you, I got invited back by the Golf Channel and allowed to come back by Augusta National, I think, because we got Phil, we put him in a nice light, and he went out and won his first ever major championship,” Sands says. “I truly do it owe it to Mickelson for saying yes all four days and then going on to win.”
Check out the entire episode of Subpar below.
