Phil Mickelson treats swing coach Rick Smith like Alec Baldwin treats his daughter

It’s a safe bet that Phil Mickelson didn’t call his longtime swing coach and good friend Rick Smith a “thoughtless little pig” when he reportedly essentially fired him. Smith has too much class to ever sling that kind of statement at Mickelson too - though it actually may sort of fit if you think about it in Phil’s case.

With his game wobbly and his mental fortitude still mush after his 2006 U.S. Open blunder for the ages, Mickelson is set to throw Smith overboard and go with Butch Harmon, one of the great blowhards in all of golf. This after Mickelson spent months, dozens of press conferences and a long ESPN Magazine article he wrote insisting that everything was great with him, thank you very much!

And after he long denied he would turn to Harmon full time.

Mickelson’s admitting Ok, I am screwed up but instead of stepping up and taking responsibility for it himself, he’s heaping the blame on Smith. It doesn’t matter how many nice things Phil says about his buddy - as he surely will - later this week. When you change swing coaches, it makes the discarded coach look bad no matter how much fake talk you spew out of a smile.

Just when you think Mickelson gets a raw deal from many golf writers, he turns around and (reportedly) pulls a gutless play like this. Maybe all those Phil haters know what they are talking about after all.

Mickelson and Harmon are sure to be one hilarious pairing. You have the most publicity hungry golfer of all time teaming up with the most publicity hungry swing coach in three universes. Good luck getting in a TV camera edgewise when these two spotlight cravers are at the range together. Wonder how Phil’s going to take it when Harmon starts saying he was clueless before the great Butch stepped in as coach?

Tiger Woods jettisoned Harmon when he realized just how egotistical - and self-serving - the coach was getting. Now Harmon gets Mickelson and the possibilities are endless.

Unless you’re Rick Smith, the good guy Mickelson kicked in the back.

At least Alec Baldwin planned to see his 11-year-old daughter Ireland to yell at her in person too. Faker Phil does the damage through sweet words and a smile. Great job, buddy. Now get out.