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.

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