2017 US Open Running Thread

2 weeks away.

Report: Mickelson skipping U.S. Open for graduation | Golf Channel

 

My wife tells me I'm a heartless ass who'll change once we have kids, but...

I can't fathom the decision. Whenever a situation presents itself for a player to miss their game's highest profile event to attend a birth/graduation/whatever I'm astounded that anyone would pay lip service to missing the big game/tourney, much less actually follow through and skip it. It seems more egregious in a team sport, where your paid to show up and have teammates counting on you, but I'm sure Phil's sponsors can't be thrilled with his decision. I'm of the mind that the silly game that is so much less important than family milestone du jour provides a pretty sweet lifestyle for said family, so they should just live with Daddy catching the highlights on an iPhone video.

I would exempt death-bed scenarios, so I'm not a total monster.

 

I really don't think that graduating high school is some big milestone that is difficult to achieve. Others may feel differently but it wasn't treated as any big event for me and I don't expect to treat it as such for my kids.

 

Your mileage will vary for high school graduation but it's still a big deal in my book. It's a milestone of life where the graduate is officially entering the world out of the shadow of parents and mandatory school. Graduating high school is not hard under normal circumstances, but it is still the culmination of 13 years of work starting at the age of 5. And this is the only time you will ever graduate from high school. You can graduate from college a few times if you go for multiple degrees, but you will never get a second high school diploma.

Again, I can't tell you how to treat a graduation or what to give up for one.

 

Since my son is graduating from high school next weekend, I tend to agree with Spartan Squad. Plus, both sets of grandparents are coming into town, along with my sister and nephew, and there's only so many of those occasions where you're all together celebrating something (as opposed to mourning someone).

All that said, it does seem a bit strange for Phil to skip the one major that — in other years — he's seemed so desperate to win. Maybe completing that career "slam" isn't as important to him as he gets older and the PGA Senior Tour nears (if he even plays many of those events). But if he's truly doing this because family is important to him, props.

 

Phil can't win. If he does this,he criticized. If he shos up and plays, he's a hypocrite. If fate had made me a world class athlete, I'd have told the world o go fuck itself. Every day as often as I could.

 

High school graduation is a huge huge event. Probably moreso for the parents than the kids. It marks the end of childhood and the start of independence.

I'm with Gee. I wouldn't spend five seconds listening to anyone tell me what's good for my family.

 

Golf and SJParenting -- a winning combo.

 

I agree that everyone needs to choose the parameters of what they think is important for their family.

With full disclosure that I've never liked him, I've always had this feeling, and I could be completely wrong, that Phil acts like he's better than the rest of the other players when it comes to his family.

 

There's another U.S, Open next year ... and the year after that ... and ...........

 

You know, it's just possible that his kids really are more important to him than golf. Just sayin'.

Plus, they won't starve if he doesn't get a check from this year's Open.