Lapse in judgment
By all accounts, Phil Mickelson did well at the United States Open yesterday. He teed off early, close to six hours before the final pairing, and posted a 69 that could well have been a handful of strokes better. Still, he’s not likely to complain about his performance, not with majority of the field still coming up with over-par scores despite the US Golf Association’s conscious effort to soften up the course, and especially it followed a third-round 81 that included a serious breach of etiquette.
For the record, Mickelson finished tied for 48th, 18 spots higher than when he began his final 18. At any other time, it would have been an affirmation of his capacity to bounce back from a poor showing even at 48. Considering how he set up his comeback, however, any assessment of his 2018 standing in the one major championship that has given him the most heartbreaks cannot but include the gaffe he committed on his 49th green of the tournament. Clearly overcome by the moment, he shocked all and sundry by hitting his ball with his putter while it was still moving.
Mickelson received a two- stroke penalty for doing the same thing John Daly did in the 1999 US Open, so the USGA wasn’t really being kind. Sure, he could have been disqualified for his misstep. And, sure, his explanation in his post- round presser didn’t help his cause any; even taking at face value his contention that the move was planned, it made him out to be a rules-bending competitor at best. Not quite the picture he would want to paint of himself as a practitioner of a gentleman’s game.
Clearly, Mickelson was not at his best over the weekend. And so rattled was he that he went so far as to blame critics for thinking he disrespected the game. Really, now. A simple apology would have sufficed for the erstwhile people’s champion. Instead, he dug deep, and put himself in a corner where he looked more guilty. Perhaps fans, who have notoriously short memories when it comes to their sports heroes, will forgive him for his lapse in judgment. Nonetheless, the asterisk will stay and serve to discount an otherwise- stellar career.