Run for the Hills
PHIL MICKELSON will need the help of thunder and lightning to make his tee time in the first round of the US Open at Erin Hills on Thursday.
At 46, the left-hander is desperate to challenge for the only Major title to elude him in order to complete his career grand slam.
But at the same time he is even more determined to attend his daughter Amanda’s high school graduation ceremony more than 2,000 miles away at the Pacific Ridge High School in Carlbad, California at 10am, two hours and 20 minutes before he is due to tee off.
Originally Mickelson was going to withdraw from the US Open because Amanda is giving the commencement speech at the school ceremony. “This is one of those moments where you look back on life and you just don’t want to miss it,” he said.
He has since, however, had a change of mind, which was reinforced on Sunday by his form in the US Tour’s FedEx St Jude Classic. A burst of birdies saw him climb to the top of the leaderboard only to fall back into the pack at the 12th hole when he drove out of bounds and then put his second ball into water by the green. He still shot a 68 to finish ninth.
Afterwards Mickelson confirmed that he has not withdrawn from Erin Hills and hopes he will be able to join fellow Americans Stewart Cink and Steve Stricker in the third last group of the day. They are due to tee off at 2.20pm local time but Mickelson is hoping for a delay.
He has run various scenarios past his management team and they have come up with a plan which would see him climb into a private plane and jet east across America from Carlsbad to Milwaukee, which is a 35-minute drive from the course.
Mickelson recognises that the only way he will be able to play is if there is thunder and lightning in the air at Erin Hills, which will force the USGA to suspend play.
“I need a minimum four-hour delay, most likely, that’s the way I’ve kind of mapped it out,” he said, having discovered that the flight would take him a minimum of three hours and 20 minutes. He has not ruled out the journey because further enquiries made to the American Weather Bureau have suggested the weather gods could help him because, despite sunny skies, there is a 10 per cent chance of rain forecast for Thursday.
Should he get to play, there is still one other big obstacle Mickelson would have to overcome to outshoot his rivals at Erin Hills, which has never previously staged a Major.
He said: “I’m not going to really be prepared for Erin Hills. I haven’t gone there and I don’t know the golf course. I’d be showing up there on the first tee for the first time, and I would be relying on my caddie to steer me around every single shot.
“But sometimes not seeing or knowing where the trouble is, or how bad it is, and seeing only where you want the ball to go, can be good in a tournament as tough as the US Open.”
SCOTLAND’S Carly Booth has earned a qualifying spot to play in the Women’s US Open at the Trump National Club in New Jersey next month. However, her delight is muted because the event clashes with another plan to make her debut on the men’s third-tier Europro Tour – and compete against her brother Wallace. THE SCOUT