Mentoring young players a Masters tradition like no other

Phil Mickelson tossed his ball to the right valley of the 14th green and motioned Cameron Champ to do the same. Some 80 feet away, on the upper-left tier, stood a target during Monday’s practice round.

Mickelson blasted his putt to six feet, and watched intently as the Masters rookie lagged his attempt inside.

“Pretty good,” Mickelson said. “Again?”

The second go-round produced another Champ victory, and a smirk from the three-time Masters champion. Before Monday’s round, Mickelson had planned to play alone for nine holes. But after warming up beside Champ, Phil invited the 25-year-old to tag along. On each hole, Mickelson guided Champ on the dos-and-don’ts of Augusta National’s second nine, adding another chapter to the unwritten rule of former champions assisting younger competitors.

Photos: Tuesday Practice Round

Following their putting contest, Mickelson and Champ spent 16 minutes on the tricky green, putting to each of the predicted hole locations. At No. 17, Mickelson teed off first and preached about the importance of missing in the correct spot.

“Can’t go left here,” Mickelson told Champ. “If you miss, miss right. If you miss right, there’s an 85 percent chance you can still make it on. Miss left and it’s over.”

Competing in his 28th Masters Tournament, Mickelson has embraced the role of mentor, and credits Raymond Floyd for showing him the ropes in 1991 during his first visit to Augusta National.

It’s a tradition that began with club founder Bobby Jones and spans the history of the tournament. During Monday’s practice round in 1946, Jones and Augusta National head professional Ed Dudley joined forces in a best-ball match against Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson. Hogan and Nelson combined to shoot 60, easily defeated their competition, and helped propel Hogan to a runner-up finish.

Nelson carried on the mentoring by hosting practice rounds with Ken Venturi in the 1950s, and relished the role for 40 years. In 1987, on the 50th anniversary of Nelson winning the 1937 Masters, he strolled that Tuesday with Tom Watson and Ben Crenshaw. Watson and Crenshaw had already won at Augusta National, but as Jordan Spieth mentioned Monday, there’s no such thing as too much knowledge.

“I'm still trying to learn myself,” said Spieth, who won in 2015 and has two runner-up finishes.

When Spieth won, he played Wednesday with Crenshaw and Tiger Woods. Spieth took notes from Crenshaw, while Jordan’s caddie, Mike Greller, did the same with Gentle Ben’s longtime Masters caddie, Carl Jackson.

“They seemed to be practicing on only the spots they'd miss from,” Spieth said of Tiger and Ben.

Five years later, Spieth is already accepting his mentor responsibilities. On Monday, the Texan played with Masters rookie J.T. Poston, as well as 2007 Masters winner Zach Johnson. It was a unique round, Spieth noted, as he spent time assisting Poston, while gaining knowledge from Johnson.

“I kind of had both roles today,” Spieth said. “I guess it's a little bit weird, but at the same time, I still feel like I'm playing that learning role. Hopefully I always feel that way here.”