Mickelson raises greatness profile
Thirty years ago, the college kid took his chances of winning the Northern Telecom Open and dumped them into the Tucson desert.
He triple-bogeyed the 14th hole, a parfive, thanks to two penalty strokes and two shots into the Lord’s own sand. He fell into fifth place. And why not? He was still 19 years old, better-suited for 54-hole events involving Arizona State. Nice story while it lasted. He’ll learn.
Then Phil Mickelson birdied twice coming in, watched a couple of veterans get sand in their eyes, and actually won.
He put the brass conquistador’s hat on his head and did not seem to mind that he couldn’t cash the $180,000 check. Among those in his wake were Craig Stadler and Bob Tway. Who knew that their sons would come to the tour and wind up losing to Mickelson, too?
Who could tell that the
Phil-mobile, this racing machine that didn’t need pavement, would be purring 30 years later?
Mickelson’s 45th PGA Tour victory came one day before Bob Dylan, author of “Forever Young,” turned 80. It was more solidly fashioned than his first. He won Sunday’s PGA Championship at wicked Kiawah Island, S.C., and not just because he was more experienced. He hit the ball better.
Instead of whining about the souped-up ball and the Marvel equipment and how they’ve ruined the good ol’ game, Mickelson went to the practice tee and closed the refrigerator. At 50, he is fasting for 36-hour periods every week so he can feel lightfooted enough to accelerate. He is getting looser, faster and longer just because he was fascinated to see if he could.
It’s right out of the old John F. Kennedy quotebook, and the difference between those who say why, or why not.
It’s what makes Phil think he can make par from a spectator’s pocketbook, or fit a 6-iron between two snug pine trees on the 13th hole at Augusta National.
It’s why he threw away the 2006 U.S. Open with a two-shot lead after 71 holes, and why he flew in from Parts Unknown to win on Sunday.
It’s why he was clueless at the Open Championship for years, studied the conditions, tried new stuff, and then banged home three birdies on the back nine to win at Muirfield in 2013.
Three years later he engaged Henrik Stenson at Troon in one of the great Sunday duels in major championship history. Mickelson shot 17 under par and beat third-place J.B. Holmes by 11. He shot 65 on Sunday and lost by three, one of his 11 runnerup finishes in a major.
All of this leads us into the Pit of Lists, a toxic muck that thrives on the internet, like mold.
Where does Mickelson fit among the all-time golfers?
Let’s postulate that Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead lead the way. The rest of the top 10 is just a matter of taste.
Mickelson’s advantage is his 30-year career arc and the fact that he thrived in Tigerland, the 1999-2008 period when Woods was the best player in men’s golf history. Mickelson won 22 times in that span, including three majors, and Woods finished second to Mickelson four times.
Mickelson has not caught Tom Watson, who won eight majors and basically dethroned Nicklaus. He’s short of Gary Player, who, like Mickelson, has won majors in three decades, nine overall, and was golf’s first real globalist.
Walter Hagen won 11 majors. The Masters came along too late for his prime, but the Western Open was considered a major and he won five of those.
But no one else is clearly more credentialed than Mickelson.
Byron Nelson won 11 consecutive events and 52 overall with six majors but retired when he was 34. Gene Sarazen won seven majors, including the career Slam, and 38 PGA Tour events, but Mickelson was better for longer.
Then there’s Arnold Palmer, Mickelson’s lineal antecedent, from his brazen wins to his staggering losses to his thumbsup response to fans. When a young Mickelson learned that Palmer signed all the autographs, he vowed to do the same thing.
Palmer’s impact on his sport will forever be supreme. But, in actual play, Palmer wedged all seven of his majors into a sixyear span and won only six times in his 40s, not counting two four-ball events he won with Nicklaus. The PGA was Mickelson’s seventh win after 40 and second major.
Woods, who once held Mickelson in contempt, congratulated him in a tweet that contained six exclamation points, one for each other.
He also left room.