The fan
They come in letters that fill Hefty bags. They come from fans walking around the golf course. They come from strangers at restaurants and grocery stores.
"There's really been an outpouring of people telling us what they were doing that Sunday," said Amy Mickelson. "It's very flattering and it's fun to have that sort of excitement, and all these people want to share it with us."
They share stories about cold Easter dinners and dropped dishes and grandmothers trying in vain to pry their families away from the television. They share stories about passengers on airplanes wildly applauding when the captain announced that Phil Mickelson won the Masters as they were making their final descent into whatever airport.
Of all the stories they've heard, one in particular stands out. And it says a lot about how attached fans are to Mickelson.
It's a story Amy heard thirdhand from Kimberly Gay, the wife of fellow tour player Brian Gay. It's a story that touched the Mickelsons' hearts.
"I couldn't believe it when I heard this story," Amy said. "It was very, very special."
This was a story about David McCampbell, and it requires a little background.
"He was always optimistic, even after 10 trips to tour school," said McCampbell's wife, Hope. "There would have been 11, 12 and 13 because that's just how he was."
In August 2001, just five months after the birth of their son, Robert, McCampbell went to the hospital for some digestive problems and minor bleeding and left with a diagnosis of stage 4 colon cancer that had spread to his liver. Three doctors declared it inoperable. With chemotherapy, he might live another six months.
That wasn't good enough. They searched and found a doctor at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City willing to perform a hepatic resection of 75 percent of his liver. The five-hour surgery began at 8:15 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001. Hope looked out the window of the Manhattan facility a half-hour later and saw smoke and flames billowing out of the World Trade Center just 40 blocks away.
McCampbell's was the only surgery performed that day.
"For me it was miraculous that happened," Hope said. "While there was a lot of tragedy that day, for me and especially my son, who is now 4, it brought Dave years he never would have had without that surgery."
This brings us to the story about Mickelson, whom McCampbell never met.
Despite constant chemotherapy treatments, McCampbell got back to playing tournament golf. He played in an event the Friday before Easter in 2004, and came home complaining of a painful finger.
It looked infected, but knowing that a visit to the germ-ridden emergency room would only get him a referral to his oncologist on Monday, McCampbell decided to ride the weekend out in his recliner with antibiotics, pain killers, his 3-year-old son and the Masters on CBS.
"He loved Phil Mickelson - loved him," said Hope. "The reason he did is because he always identified with Phil as a great guy who was such a family man, like he was. But most importantly, he was kind of the underdog sometimes in these tournaments and was always finishing second.
"When Phil won, Dave was so ecstatic about it. I think he identified with that. Phil won now and it was a battle he was winning, too."
Early the next morning, McCampbell's breathing changed and Hope rushed him to the hospital. The finger pain was actually a blood clot caused by an infection in his heart. His liver, kidneys and lungs were shutting down. The doctors needed to amputate part of his finger - which he was not too keen on because of his golf.
"When they put him to sleep, they told me that he may not wake up," Hope said.
A week later, he did. After inquiring about his wife's hysterical tears and finding out he'd been unconscious for a week, he had another pressing question.
"Did Phil Mickelson really win the Masters, or did I dream that?" McCampbell said.
"I brought him some newspapers, and he read those and reread those and was really excited about it," Hope said. "He was still talking about the tournament and still talking about Phil, and it was so great and so exciting that it happened and that it was Phil's time, because he always tried so hard."
On May 2, 2004, David McCampbell died. He was 45.
"Even though he was dying, and he was truly dying because he was in total organ failure, I really think (Mickelson winning the Masters) brought Dave satisfaction and pleasure in his last days," his widow said. "That definitely says a lot about how Phil touches his fans."
A story like that can get to anybody.
"It's amazing the way sports can affect people, and you don't feel worthy of that," said Amy Mickelson. "As important as winning the Masters is to Phil's career, it's so insignificant to what this man is going through. To even have someone tell you that, it's just incredible."
Mickelson understands that people like McCampbell associate the struggles and setbacks on his long road to being a major champion to the journeys in their own lives.
"We're all trying to win our own personal majors," he said.
Robert McCampbell lives with his mother in Orlando, Fla., where he learned to play golf so well with his father that his new teachers are amazed with his talent. Among the things he inherited from his father are his two favorite athletes - Cardinals outfielder Larry Walker and Mickelson.
Told that McCampbell's story had reached the Mickelsons, Hope was pleased.
"I'm glad, because it was really important to Dave." she said. "Tell Phil we're rooting for him. Robert especially."
| See Phil Mickelson From All Sides | |
| The happiest player ever to win a major | |
| His colleagues | His family |
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| His journey | His moment |
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