Mickelson in Memphis magical for fans Geoff Calkins
Jack Dotson is 14 years old. Thursday, he stood outside the ropes and watched Phil Mickelson hit a tee shot in the drink on No. 14.
He was thrilled. Not in the shot’s destination, necessarily, but by the man hitting it. “I like Phil,” he said. How much does he like Phil? Well, the Dotson family is from Omaha. They were on their way to Disney World. But they stopped in Memphis on the way to Orlando specifically to take in the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic.
And of the two experiences, which was 14-year-old Jack looking forward to more? “This one,” Dotson said. Yes, you read that right. He picked Mickelson over Mickey. He picked the Swashbuckling Lefty over the Pirates of the Caribbean.
Who needs Splash Mountain when you have Splashed Tee Shot on 14?
And so we begin yet another year in one of the great eras of this tournament. It’s Mickelson in Memphis 6.0.
Mickelson, 45, has played Memphis more than Arnold Palmer or Tom Watson, who each played the tournament five times. Of the 19 players who have won five majors or more, Mickelson has played Memphis more than all but Lee Trevino (16), Gary Player (15) and Jack Nicklaus (seven).
“There was a little more suspense this year, because the last few years, we’ve heard in the fall,” said Darrell Smith, the tournament director. “When we got the news, there was some fist pumping, for sure. We have worked hard to make the tournament more than just Phil, but it obviously makes an impact when he is here.”
Take Tammy Cleaver. She drove from Illinois with her husband, Jason, specifically to see Mickelson.
“She about peed her pants when she saw him for the first time,” Jason said. “There’s no way we would be here if it weren’t for Phil.”
Michael Fancher set his alarm for 4:25 a.m. so he could drive up from western Mississippi in time to watch Mickelson tee off.
“As long as he comes, I’ll keep doing it,” Fancher said. “Phil is my guy.”
And, no, that my-guy status didn’t seem to be threatened by the news that Mickelson was recently named a “relief defendant” in an insider trading case and would be required to return $1.03 million in ill-gotten gains.
Not a single fan I spoke with gave a flip about the charges.
“I don’t think he really knew anything about it,” Judy Nixon said.
“It’s none of my business; they should leave him alone,” Georgia Touliatos said.
It might seem strange, at some level, to see such universal shrugging over misbehavior. But these are people who have followed Mickelson forever. They feel like they know him.
Being Phil, Mickelson’s opening round at Southwind included some thrills and spills. He started the day on the back nine and birdied No. 11 and No. 12. Whee! He then pitched into a bunker on No. 13, hit his tee shot in the water on No. 14 and boinked his tee shot off a tree on No. 16. Whoa! He then birdied No. 3 and No. 5 to get back to 1 under. Whee! He then wasted a gorgeous chip at No. 6 by missing the par putt. Whoa! All that added up to an evenpar 70 for Mickelson, five strokes back of the leaders but in position to hang around for the weekend at least.
And that’s good news, for Mickelson, Memphis and for kids of all ages.
The tournament is more magical when he is around.