Phil/Lefty's Appeal

I think one of the reasons why Phil stood out is for what seemed like a long stretch at the end of the 1990s, three of the best golfers were Tiger, Vijay and Phil. Two of them are insufferable pricks and Phil was always very pleasant...

A guy can get a lot of mileage out of that.

 

Mickelson's appeal revolves around his ability to fist bump as many random people as possible, his prodigious skill level, and his ability to ruin his skill with decisions that boggle the mind. Over time, I think he'll get crankier and less likable.

Tiger, conversely, will either go into reclusive hiding when he can't win on the regular tour, or become more of a fan favorite than he is now. There are elements of Tiger's personality that are very appealing, and elements that, once he gets old enough not to believe every handlers bullshit, may drop off.

 

Less worse?

 

I remember the tournament you're talking about Moddy. It was in Arizona, I think. He did not quite "berrate" the rules official the way you remember, but there was lots of frustration and eye-rolling. It was a weird ruling. His provisional was in the fairway, and he and the guy he was playing against (it was a playoff) had each exhausted the five minutes looking for their balls. Then a "fan" found both of them.

Phil is one of my favorite athletes but he sure doesn't make it easy.

 

Phil's "should have won" majors total exceeds his "won" total.

 

A good discussion with a good bit of junior high thrown in.

Haven't you basically described every thread here ever?

 

Always felt that thinking was a bit simplistic, LTL.

He wouldn't have been in position to win those majors if he hadn't played his go-for-broke style.

He definitely left a couple on the table. But he also never would have contended for as many if he'd played safe and smart the way people seem to wish he'd play.

He definitely fucked up the Masters this year. He should have cruised to that jacket. But a lot of his close calls, he took enormous risks and walk a tightrope just to get in contention. It wasn't sustainable, and that includes Winged Foot, where he came to the 18th tee having shot one of the worst final rounds you can possibly imagine (he hit ONE fairway on a course where the rough was was a joke) and scrambled his ass off. It was a miracle he was still leading that tornament. It wasn't a choke on the final whole as much as it was a high-wire act that finally slipped a toe.

His problem is he has incredible feel for the game, but a swing (putter especially) that's not repeatable.

 

I would have to go back and review, but I think he got to that point by NOT going for broke. Wasn't that the case at Winged Foot, that he played 71 holes in total control and then decided right then and there to be Phil again? So I'm not sure how many gambles put him in contention in the other tournaments.

His flop shot is an interesting case study -- it's a great shot, much better than Tiger's, but that's largely due to the fact that Tiger is rarely stupid enough to put himself in position that he needs one.