You’re not supposed to be able to beat Tiger Woods playing in his group. You’re certainly not supposed to be able to psyche him out.
But there was Phil Mickelson throwing up a 66 in the final round of the FedEx Cup’s second tournament, the Deutsche. Phil went lower on a day when Tiger went low (67). He won a tournament when he was paired with Tiger for the final round for the first time in six tries.
That got Phil one of those handshakes from Tiger that Eric Mangini gets from Bill Belichick after beating the Patriots. And you know it had to be the sweetest brushoff Mickelson’s ever received.
It happened in large part because Mickelson received inside tips from his new swing coach Butch Harmon on the mind games Tiger plays on his opponents. One of the more underreported things to come out of Boston is Mickelson revealing that Harmon told him the little tricks that Tiger likes to use on his playing partners. Especially if he considers those playing partners a threat.
“In the past I haven’t really played that well with Tiger,” Mickelson told reporters in Boston in the middle of the tournament. “But Butch told me a couple things that (Tiger) likes to do and I kind of was watching for it and I chuckled throughout the round when I’d pick up on it.
“I think that working with Butch has really helped me understand how to get my best golf when I play in the same group as Tiger. I’m hoping I have a chance to do that on Monday (in the final round).”
He did it - with Harmon providing a huge assist. Forget any talk about Harmon changing Mickelson’s swing. As I noted back at the time of this unholy union, that idea is completely overrated. Phil still sprayed his driver everywhere in this Monday finish. His short game is what saved him again.
But where Harmon’s impact is real - and had been vastly underrated - comes in rebuffing the Tiger mind games. When Phil knew what tricks to look for from Tiger, the little things that the world’s greatest golfer employs to intimidate, he could just laugh them off and swing strong. That’s priceless.
Harmon isn’t a swing coach for Mickelson. He’s an anti-Tiger Yoda.
Everyone else on the PGA Tour needs to find out a way to get Harmon to school them too. Butch should just drop the golf swing instructor shingle (the whole swing coach phenomenon throughout golf is pretty much a sham anyways) and open up an Inside Tiger studio.
Phil Mickelson already has the win he’d never have otherwise and the PGA Tour’s a lot more interesting for at least a few weeks. Next, Rory Sabbatini needs to hire Tiger’s fifth-grade teacher and Sergio Garcia should start dating Tiger’s girlfriend from high school.
Comment feed for this post
Jason Scott Deegan:
The Accidental Golfer:
Katharine Dyson:
Kiel Christianson:
Butch has helped Phil's swing, and if he gave him a few insider tips regarding Tiger, I can tell you this. It will be short lived. If Tiger has any "tells" you can bet he will change them up, since Phil blew his chance by talking to media about it. Tiger gave up 9 shots via putting in this loss, and the fact is, Tiger lost, Phil didn't beat him per se.
Watch out for next week. As Tiger put it, "I just have to iron out a few kinks in my putting, eliminate the three putts, and I am right there."
Phil still has no class. To take a shot at Finchem and the Tour because "he didn't do as I asked," is just so much crap. What, Finchem isn't a free agent? Phil and Tiger aren't "independent contractors?"
The whole PGA needs to take a strong look in the mirror. As does the game.
Rounds are down, revenues are down, shops are closing, second tier companies are struggling, TV viewership without Tiger is down. Rounds take too long to play, good courses are too expensive, PGA instruction is like going to a psychiatrist or a dope dealer, yada, yada...not that there is anything wrong with that.
Well, from your post, I guess that Woods will never, ever, be outscored by another touring pro.
---"the fact .
is, Tiger lost, Phil didn't beat him per se"---
No, CB, that is not a fact.
The facts are that Phil not only outscored Tiger in the four rounds of the DeutscheBank, in the three rounds that the two played in the same groups and final pairing, Phil came out on top in two and tied one.
He did slightly better than Tiger in virtually all facets of the game.
Coincidentally, if the rounds had been match play, the results would have been the same, two wins, zero losses and a tie in favor of Phil.
From those facts, I'd say any sensible person could see Phil did indeed beat Tiger at the DeutscheBank along with about 119 others.
Please say that your post is a joke.
Please assure us that nobody could possibly be as dumb as you're pretending to be.