The new Phil Mickelson has a nice sense of humor.
The new Phil Mickelson has a nice sense of humor.
It’s a lot easier to crack jokes and exchange pleasantries with the media and fans after the yoke of “never having won the big one” has been lifted from your back.
It’s also easier to deal with subjects such as what happened at last year’s U.S. Open. Now that Mickelson has three major titles in his pocket, he just seems to be more at ease with himself and others. Forget the 18th-hole collapse at Winged Foot.
“I believe I am going to take what happened at Winged Foot and make it a plus for the rest of my career,” said a slimmed-down Mickelson, still patiently answering the same questions. “I was awful (with my driving) all four days. That’s when I realized I had to fix my driving.”
If Pebble Beach was any indication, consider it a done deal. Mickelson missed two fairways during his sizzling 66 Sunday, and those two were no more than a foot away. Playing partner Kevin Sutherland was convinced.
“When Phil drives the ball like he did today, like on a string down the fairway, he’s going to be tough to beat,” Sutherland said.
It wasn’t luck. Mickelson has always been considered a master of the short game with great imagination around the greens. So when you add accurate driving, watch out world.
It didn’t happen overnight. Mickelson claims he didn’t think about Winged Foot until he took his long break from golf. It hit him that he wasn’t getting everything he could out of his game because he was beating himself with his driver. So while he took his three, fourth months off from tournament golf to re-charge, he worked on his long game.
It was evident during his third victory at a tournament that ranks as one of his all-time favorites – it certainly has been lucrative for Mickelson, who has pocketed $3,069,620 at Pebble Beach.
As he strolled down the 18th fairway Sunday with amateur playing partner Harry You, he smiled easily and hit a 65-yard sand wedge to the green that nearly holed out. And then he took jabs at himself and others.
He spotted a sportswriter in printed shirt and shorts, and quipped, “You still wishing we were in Hawaii?”
And then he poked fun at his father, who he used to have as his amateur partner in the pro-am. “I ditched my dad because I wanted to win.”
When he was asked if he had ever lost a ball in the final round of a tournament he won like he did at No. 5 Sunday, Mickelson shot back, “In my very first tournament in Tucson, I lost a ball in a hazard. I’m fortunate Calloway makes a lot of golf balls and I’m able to get a bunch.”
He wasn’t being snide or short with his answers. He was merely one of the world’s top golfers now more at ease with himself and his surroundings.
“He’s a great player, one of those that something can click and off they go,” Sutherland said.
It clicked for Mickelson at Pebble Beach, and the race is back on for Augusta. That’s a course Lefty has Mastered two of the last three years. And once again, Mickelson is Master of his domain.
Contact Marc David at (408) 842-1694 or at
md****@sv**********.com
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