This Week at TravelGolf.com: August 16, 2005
Mickelson's PGA victory brings out the fuzzy math
Phil Mickelson wins his second major with a clutch chip from the deep grass on
day five of a seemingly never-ending PGA Championship and suddenly the entire
math of pro golf is changing. Well, at least it is for those so desperate to see
Tiger
Woods with a rival that they'd figure out a way to make New Coke look like
genius if it advanced their cause.
Mickelson gets his second one-stroke major victory and suddenly we're hearing
about how it's Tiger 2, Phil 2 in majors since 2004. Then, CBS commentator Jim
Nantz gets on a national radio show just hours after the finish at Baltusrol
and says he expects Mickelson to win eight majors before he's through.
Look, Jim. We know Mickelson is your buddy, but
eight majors? He's 35, isn't going to be asked to serve on
the
President's Council For Physical Fitness anytime soon
and, if you
listen to TravelGolf.com blogger Doug
Carey and other Phil-for-sainthood campaigners, he's
liable to chuck golf as soon as his 2-year-old son Evan asks why he's not coaching the tee-ball team.
Mickelson showed more resolve, more guts and more heart than the other guys still playing on Monday. Of that even this longtime Lefty Lampooner cannot quibble. He should never be called the Good Guy Gagger again (that one was for memoriam).
But expecting him to suddenly go on a majors binge
based on what you saw at Baltusrol is like expecting Paris
Hilton to suddenly stop shooting videos because she's
on her way to the altar. Phil's brother Tim
could come out on the tour and be allowed to play best
ball with Phil while everyone else stuck to stroke play
and there wouldn't be eight Mickelson majors.
And you know what? There's nothing wrong with
that. Mickelson has put on an incredible run of
entertaining golf. He could decide to focus his energy on
replicating that Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl bet tomorrow
and still be the second most memorable golfer of his
generation.
But please, stop the fuzzy math.
Putting up Tiger 2, Phil 2 only works if you include the worst year of Tiger's
majors career in the equation. Somehow, I don't think Tiger's kicking back in
Isleworth with Elin muttering, "Damn! Mickelson's caught me."
Yet, the craziness continues. Yahoo Sports put up
a poll in the hours after the 72nd hole birdie, asking how
many majors Mickelson would win in 2006. Four was one of
the possible answers. Yeah, Phil's going to pull off the Grand Slam!
Not that much really changed at Baltusrol. Tiger's still competing against history.
Maybe Mickelson's no longer fighting against himself so much. Maybe.
As always, TravelGolf.com welcomes your comments.
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