Beyond the Boxscore
Houston doctor caddies for Phil Mickelson in Masters: Good guy golfer deliversultimate bday gift
Oprah has nothing on Phil Mickelson when it comes to giving unforgettable gifts.
Free cars are nice, but how about serving as Mickelson's caddie during the Masters? That's beyond unique and priceless for the Houston doctor who received just that chance. Mickelson wanted to do something special for MD Anderson cancer doctor Tom Buchholz's 50th birthday.
Buchholz treated Mickelson's wife Amy and his mother Mary for breast cancer and the PGA Tour star's been trying to thank him ever since.
"It's indescribable," Buchholz said. "I still can't quite believe it. I mean, come on, it's Augusta."
Mickelson is big on appreciation. And he knows Buchholz is a golf nut. The golfer and the doctor's families became close during the course of Amy and Mary Mickelson's treatment at MD Anderson. Whenever Mickelson is in town for the Shell Houston Open, he and Buchholz get together.
He even had the doctor caddie for him for three holes during the final round of the 2010 Houston Open.
So Buchholz has experience on a pro bag. But the Masters is something completely different. Augusta National is the most hallowed, exclusive ground in golf. Some of the richest men in the world do crazy things to try and play there.
And getting behind the ropes in competition . . . forget it.
But that is exactly where Buchholz found himself Wednesday afternoon during the tournament's storied Par 3 Tournament, the fun, unique contest played the day before the first round of the Masters. There was the doctor decked out in those distinctive white Masters caddie coveralls, reading shots for one of the greatest golfers of our time, soaking up those Augusta roars.
"It's indescribable," Buchholz told CultureMap in a one-on-one phone interview shortly after getting off the course. "I still can't quite believe it.
"I mean, come on, it's Augusta. I'm just excited to be here."
This is Buchholz's first trip to the Masters. That would have been a heck of a birthday gift just by itself. But his experience went far beyond that. He walked the course side by side with Mickelson, toting one of the most famous bags in sports in a group with Hall of Famer Raymond Floyd and hotshot Masters rookie Keegan Bradley.
The outgoing, needling Mickelson isn't looking for a meek wallflower in a caddie either. He wanted Buchholz to give his opinions on shots.
"I was giving him a lot of advice and he would have won the tournament if he didn't listen to me," Buchholz deadpanned.
Ensuring Mickelson didn't win the Par 3 may be best thing anyone does for him all week. There is the infamous long-standing curse that no golfer who's won the Par 3 has ever gone on to win the Masters that year.
"I was going back and forth with Phil's wife Amy about that," Buchholz said. "I told her that I was committed to winning. She told me, 'Don't you dare. You throw his ball in the lake if you have to.'
"I kept telling her, 'No, no, we're going to break the curse.' "
Mickelson didn't end up winning. He finished two shots back at 3-under in the rain and lightning-shortened affair.
Amy Mickelson is happy and Buchholz is safe.
"Now he can go out and win it all this weekend," Buchholz said.
Ties That Bind
The doctor ended up walking off Augusta more impressed with Mickelson than ever. Seeing the shot-making from the creative Lefty up close wowed. But it was more than that.
"What's really special is how much he is loved by everyone in attendance," Buchholz said. "He stopped and gave a ball to a child at every hole. I think everyone in the whole tournament is rooting for him.
"To see his kindness and generosity with others is something. He's just a really classy guy."
"I was giving him a lot of advice and he would have won the tournament if he didn't listen to me," Buchholz deadpanned.
The doctor also enjoyed being in the same group with Floyd, whose wife Maria he also treated for cancer at MD Anderson. The head of the department of radiation oncology, Buchholz understands just how many families cancer can cruelly touch.
Being a four-time Major winner like Mickelson doesn't make you feel any less scared when it's your wife, or your mother, facing the Big C.
"I think he likes me for my contributions outside of golf," Buchholz said, "rather than inside the ropes. He's appreciative for what MD Anderson's provided his family."
On Wednesday Mickelson showed that the best way he knows how — by bringing the doctor inside the tournament with the largest aura in golf. "The Masters is a magical tournament," Buchholz said. "The course looks even more beautiful than it does on TV."
Buchholz laughs when asked if he dared steal a few blades of Augusta's pristine grass for a memento. "I took a couple of pictures on my phone," he said. "But I think the best souvenir is just going to be these memories."
Buchholz plans to watch Mickelson in Thursday's first round with his brother and father before driving up to Hilton Head for a pre-planned family birthday weekend. There is a lot of noise in sports, sometimes it seems like another controversy is around every corner.
But in the end, the games are about stories.
It's hard to imagine finding a better one than Mickelson and his doc caddie. No matter how the week ends, Mickelson's already emerged as one of the winners for what he created for someone else.
