Although I have built a career out of documenting before-and-after dates in my life, the most of them have nothing to do with sports. This is despite the fact that I have documented them with great success. Nevertheless, after living for what is now twenty years, I can state without a doubt that this date was the turning point in my life, and it was all due of a golf tournament that took place in Georgia.

I was aware of the existence of golf prior to this day; however, it was during the thrilling final round of the Masters that I was truly exposed to the grand theater of the ultimate individual sport. This event marked the beginning of a two-decade immersion in the game, with the number of decades that are still to come depending only on how long I am alive.

My personal involvement in the sport of golf will officially reach its 20th anniversary today, coinciding with the beginning of the Masters tournament in 2024. I would like to celebrate my emerald anniversary, or if you like, a Masters color.

I come from a family that is anything but fascinated with golf, therefore it is quite improbable that I would be captivated by golf for such a lengthy period of time. In spite of this, fate found a way to intervene during a family gathering, of all places.

Despite the fact that he did not watch golf very much, my grandfather would always tune in to watch the final round of the major championships, particularly the Masters. It just so happened that the last round of the tournament in 2004 took place on Easter Sunday. Following the traditional ham lunch that my family had at my grandparents’ house, a few of us went back to the den, where I found myself watching the Masters when I was nine years old.

It is possible that the story might have come to an end there if it had been another year with a less spectacular conclusion. However, this was the year 2004, and it was one of the most spectacular final rounds in the long history of the most illustrious competition in the sport.

As Phil Mickelson competed against the legendary Ernie Els in a back-nine match, he was attempting to win his first major championship. With six major championships under his belt at this point, it is difficult to conceive of a world in which Lefty was regarded as the guy who couldn’t win the big one. However, this was a thing until he was in his mid-30s. Both players performed exceptionally well; Els birdied the eighth and thirteenth holes to take the lead, while Mickelson birdied five of the last seven holes to win the tournament. Mickelson tied Els with an 18-foot birdie putt at the sixteenth hole, and then he made a birdie putt on the final hole that was of a similar length to complete the victory by one stroke.

Despite the fact that I did not fully comprehend the scoring system of golf until much later, I was nevertheless able to follow the drama that occurred throughout the day, notably Mickelson’s final hole and the high stakes of the final putt. Lefty jumped into the air with both arms outstretched in celebration after the ball just barely caught the left lip and fell into the cup. Mickelson said that the ball was a “nudge” from his grandfather, who had passed away not long before.

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