Hotel di Pangandaran - GREEN Jacket hero Phil Mickelson has vowed to be back at the Barclays Scottish Open this summer after admitting he was sorry to miss out last year.
The Masters champion is the first and the biggest name to sign up to the Loch Lomond showdown from July 8-11 and his return promises to be a huge boost for fans across Scotland.
They can now look forward to seeing the three-times Augusta winner up close for two weeks running on the Bonnie Banks and then at St Andrews when Lefty bids for The Open that has so far proved elusive, despite his impressive haul of four Major titles.
Mickelson, who missed most of last summer's schedule to be with his wife Amy after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in May, confirmed his desire to play the Scottish Open again after clinching a sensational victory in Georgia on Sunday night.
It will be his first appearance in Europe for two years and he admitted he's delighted to be able to return to Scotland this year secure in the knowledge his wife is winning her battle against her illness.
Mickelson told Record Sport: "I absolutely intend to be at Loch Lomond. I intended to be there last year too but family circumstances meant that wasn't possible.
"I expect to be back there this time, as well as the British Open."
Mickelson will headline a starstudded field in July and if he can deliver anything near the thrilling golf he displayed at Augusta over last weekend we are in for a treat.
The Californian stole the show in what history will remember as one of the great Masters battles packed with birdies, eagles and world-class golf from start to finish.
If Mickelson's breathless back nine on Saturday, including backto-back eagles at the 13th and 14th, wasn't remarkable enough - his performance closing out on Sunday was even more dramatic.
He admits to getting a lucky break when a wayward drive on the 11th hit a spectator and bounced back towards the fairway to f ind a favourable lie - but when another slack tee shot found trees again on 13, what followed was the defining moment of the tournament fuelled by bravery and skill.
Folklore His ambitious decision to go for the green through a narrow gap between two enormous oaks will be remembered for a long time as one of the most celebrated shots in Masters folklore, cracking it through this tiny gap to land over the creek guarding the green and stop four feet from the pin.
Mickelson said: "I had a good lie in the pine needles. I was going to have to go through that gap whether I laid up or went for the green. Either way I was going to have to hit a decent shot.
"The gap wasn't huge but it was big enough for a ball to fit through! I just felt like at that time I needed to trust my swing and hit a shot, and it came off perfect.
"I was 207 yards to the hole and my caddie Bones didn't try to talk me out of it. We were between a six and a five iron because sometimes hitting out of the pine needles, the ball will come out a little slow. I just felt like it was clean enough that it was going to come out fine and I wanted to hit something hard, so I hit six.
"At the 11th I was lucky to get an assist off a patron. The ball hit him and came right back almost into the grass and that gave me a pretty open shot to hook an eight iron around the trees on to the green to save par.
"Did the guy say anything? Ouch!
"Thing is I'm very relaxed here at Augusta because you don't have to be perfect. I've hit a lot of great shots and driven the ball very well, but I've made some bad swings on nine, 10 and 11 but still salvaged par.
"I was able to get the ball, advance it far enough down by the green where my short game could take over and salvage par. That's why I feel so comfortable here and I'm relaxed when I drive down Magnolia Lane because I know I don't have to play perfect golf."
Mickelson's 16-under-par scoreline saw off Lee Westwood by a three shot margin and dealt the Englishman another bitter dose of Major heartache, having finished third at last year's Open at Turnberry, the USPGA at Hazeltine and the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines.
It's a catalogue of near misses that Mickelson can sympathise with having suffered so many close calls himself before his first Masters win in 2004 shrugged off his tag of best player never to have won a Major.
That's why he took time out from the joy of his victory and the emotion of sharing it with his wife, who had hauled herself out of her sick bed to share the moment, to give comfort and encouragement to his rival.
Mickelson added: "I told Lee there's nothing I can say to make you feel better. I've been in that position - and it sucks.
"But I also told him he is playing some of the best golf in the world. He's an incredible player and I want him to win his first Major soon because he is that kind of talent, that type of player and a quality guy."
The Masters champion is the first and the biggest name to sign up to the Loch Lomond showdown from July 8-11 and his return promises to be a huge boost for fans across Scotland.
They can now look forward to seeing the three-times Augusta winner up close for two weeks running on the Bonnie Banks and then at St Andrews when Lefty bids for The Open that has so far proved elusive, despite his impressive haul of four Major titles.
Mickelson, who missed most of last summer's schedule to be with his wife Amy after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in May, confirmed his desire to play the Scottish Open again after clinching a sensational victory in Georgia on Sunday night.
It will be his first appearance in Europe for two years and he admitted he's delighted to be able to return to Scotland this year secure in the knowledge his wife is winning her battle against her illness.
Mickelson told Record Sport: "I absolutely intend to be at Loch Lomond. I intended to be there last year too but family circumstances meant that wasn't possible.
"I expect to be back there this time, as well as the British Open."
Mickelson will headline a starstudded field in July and if he can deliver anything near the thrilling golf he displayed at Augusta over last weekend we are in for a treat.
The Californian stole the show in what history will remember as one of the great Masters battles packed with birdies, eagles and world-class golf from start to finish.
If Mickelson's breathless back nine on Saturday, including backto-back eagles at the 13th and 14th, wasn't remarkable enough - his performance closing out on Sunday was even more dramatic.
He admits to getting a lucky break when a wayward drive on the 11th hit a spectator and bounced back towards the fairway to f ind a favourable lie - but when another slack tee shot found trees again on 13, what followed was the defining moment of the tournament fuelled by bravery and skill.
Folklore His ambitious decision to go for the green through a narrow gap between two enormous oaks will be remembered for a long time as one of the most celebrated shots in Masters folklore, cracking it through this tiny gap to land over the creek guarding the green and stop four feet from the pin.
Mickelson said: "I had a good lie in the pine needles. I was going to have to go through that gap whether I laid up or went for the green. Either way I was going to have to hit a decent shot.
"The gap wasn't huge but it was big enough for a ball to fit through! I just felt like at that time I needed to trust my swing and hit a shot, and it came off perfect.
"I was 207 yards to the hole and my caddie Bones didn't try to talk me out of it. We were between a six and a five iron because sometimes hitting out of the pine needles, the ball will come out a little slow. I just felt like it was clean enough that it was going to come out fine and I wanted to hit something hard, so I hit six.
"At the 11th I was lucky to get an assist off a patron. The ball hit him and came right back almost into the grass and that gave me a pretty open shot to hook an eight iron around the trees on to the green to save par.
"Did the guy say anything? Ouch!
"Thing is I'm very relaxed here at Augusta because you don't have to be perfect. I've hit a lot of great shots and driven the ball very well, but I've made some bad swings on nine, 10 and 11 but still salvaged par.
"I was able to get the ball, advance it far enough down by the green where my short game could take over and salvage par. That's why I feel so comfortable here and I'm relaxed when I drive down Magnolia Lane because I know I don't have to play perfect golf."
Mickelson's 16-under-par scoreline saw off Lee Westwood by a three shot margin and dealt the Englishman another bitter dose of Major heartache, having finished third at last year's Open at Turnberry, the USPGA at Hazeltine and the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines.
It's a catalogue of near misses that Mickelson can sympathise with having suffered so many close calls himself before his first Masters win in 2004 shrugged off his tag of best player never to have won a Major.
That's why he took time out from the joy of his victory and the emotion of sharing it with his wife, who had hauled herself out of her sick bed to share the moment, to give comfort and encouragement to his rival.
Mickelson added: "I told Lee there's nothing I can say to make you feel better. I've been in that position - and it sucks.
"But I also told him he is playing some of the best golf in the world. He's an incredible player and I want him to win his first Major soon because he is that kind of talent, that type of player and a quality guy."
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