Golfmosis

Greetings golf world.  I’d like to spend some time today discussing something that happened last Sunday at the World Golf Championship event held at the Firestone CC (South Course).  I’ve come to a realization that’s hard for me.  I’ve been fighting it for a very long time but I think it has finally hit home.  Phil Mickelson is a choker.  I really hate saying that because I am a huge Phil fan.  I think he is a great guy and his imagination around the greens is the greatest golf has ever seen.  The PGA needs more guys like Phil who will speak their mind, be respectful of the media and fans and put on a great show every time he tees it up.  Not to mention all of his charity work all that he gives back to the community in the form of children’s educational programs.

This last Sunday though, Phil failed painfully as he has done too many times on the big stage.  I’ve been an apologist.  I’ve made excuses for him to my friends.  I’ve blamed his final round faltering on bad luck or unfair course setup……but the fact is, Phil’s brain seems to head to the scorers tent while his body is lining up an approach shot 10 yards left of the 15^th fairway.  It wouldn’t be quite so bad if it was just his nerves causing him to underperform.  Seems to me, his nerves are fine.  He actually just makes really poor decisions at very crucial times down the stretch.  I know that his recovery shots are often otherworldly and he gets away with a lot of mistakes because of it.  But sooner or later, with the pressure of trying to bring home the hardware against the likes of Singh, Els, Garcia….etc and lest we forget, Tiger, all that grinding is bound to tap out his luck. 

All Phil had to do last Sunday, up by 1 on the downhill side of the back nine, is hit fairways and greens and he’s in the clubhouse hugging that really ugly trophy.  How many of us would be thrilled to hit a nice little 3 wood draw off the tee that comes to rest somewhere in the 280 yard range?  Did that cross your mind Phil?  Could that be a safe, effective way to put this one away Phil?  Alas, no.  Instead of plunging a dagger into the hearts of his worthy opponents by splitting the remaining few fairways, swashbuckling Phil whips out his  big, giant whuppin’ stick and proceeds to smash, bash and pummel his scorecard all the way into a tie for 4th.  I know that he and Bones (Jim MacKay – long time Mickelson friend and caddie) have a great relationship and til death do they part but come on……..don’t you imagine that Bones sometimes just has to close his eyes and feel grateful that the purses are so large nowadays that he won’t have to worry about getting paid once the bodies have been counted?  It’s one thing for Phil to go for the crowd pleaser in Milwaukee or the 84 Lumber Classic (no offense to these great tourneys) but to consistently cut his own throat in a WGC or a major (see Winged Foot 2006) is just beyond the bounds of sanity.  You gotta give yourself a chance, man! 

Annika Sorenstam once said that as a junior golfer, she’d throw tournaments in the closing holes of the final round because she was shy and didn’t like the attention commonly showered upon the winner.  One thing Phil definitely does not fear is the glow of the limelight.  So what is his problem?  He’s a smart guy.  In my opinion, he’d be a smart guy with a few more wins if he’d just keep it in his pants late on Sunday.  Love ya Phil!