When I think about Phil Mickelson, I think about everything Ron Green mentioned in his article (“Who is Phil? Questions swirl on Mickelson’s rollercoaster ride,” August 14 GGP).
Mickelson, like so many of us, is a complex human being with many flaws, but also with many attributes. I think it is completely unfair to attempt to put him in a box, and to try and classify him as either a hero or a villain.
I like Phil. I’ve known him, though not well, since we were both junior golfers. I’ve always appreciated the way in which he has approached the game with a supreme confidence. I’m not sure if he has ever seen a shot that he didn’t think he had at least a chance of pulling off.
He often made decisions that left me screaming at the TV, e.g., the tee shot, and even more so, the second shot on 18 at Winged Foot in the 2006 U.S. Open, but he very often left me in awe when he pulled off the seemingly impossible shot.
He was the ultimate gambler on the course. It is not hard to believe – and frankly, somewhat expected – that his propensity for taking risks would not be confined to the golf course; however, like the stories involving Michael Jordan, I don’t care how a millionaire chooses to spend his disposable income. That’s his business, and ultimately, it is up to him to know when it becomes too much.
It sounds as if Mickelson reached that point and has done something about it. Good for him, but again, it really isn’t any of our business.
With the U.S. Amateur having returned to Cherry Hills last week, I will choose to remember the Mickelson whom I watched win the title there in 1990. It was consummate Mickelson, especially in the final against Manny Zerman. Mickelson, with his collar flipped up the entire time, played very aggressively, hit it all over the course, but chipped and putted his way to an easy victory, while numerous times employing a little gamesmanship with Zerman.
Ken Shaw
Greenville, South Carolina
Phil Mickelson called out Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour for not sharing enough with the players. Mickelson stood by his word and left on principle (“Who is Phil? Questions swirl on Mickelson’s rollercoaster ride,” August 14 GGP).
He got bashed by everyone, and it turns out he was right. Funny how tour mouthpiece Rory McIlroy and others aren’t apologizing to Mickelson. Instead, they’re whining that now they want what the guys with balls got.
The PGA Tour handled the LIV Golf thing wrong from the very beginning, and now nobody knows how to make it right.
Monahan is a shamefully ineffective leader.
Jim Bousquet
Sarasota, Florida
For years I rooted for Tiger Woods over Phil Mickelson for Tiger’s amazing record in such a short period of time but admired Phil for his go-for-broke style that at times left your jaw on the ground for what he accomplished or tried to accomplish on a specific shot (“Who is Phil? Questions swirl on Mickelson’s rollercoaster ride,” August 14 GGP).
I loved his honesty at Winged Foot for admitting the stupidity of his strategy on 18 in the 2006 U.S. Open. When he won at Augusta in 2004 for the first time, I had to tip my cap to his well-deserved first major title. I loved him, in contrast to Tiger, that he really was the family man we all want to be in good times and bad and still smiled through it all, signing autographs for kids when he easily could have blown off the fans. And when he won the 2021 PGA at Kiawah, I stood and applauded him, giving us old guys hope there may be enough gas in the tank to do things on the course we only dream about.
That admiration all went away when he joined LIV. When you start making excuses for your sponsor after saying that they did horrible things we all abhor as Americans, I knew he was perfecting hypocrisy to an art form while trying to convince himself and his former fans he was doing it all to “grow the game.” At that point, you have to shout BS from the rooftops because you know it is all about the Benjamins, especially for most of the second-tier golfers who fled the PGA Tour. At least Harold Varner is honest when he says he joined LIV for the life-changing financial security.
Mickelson has sacrificed his honesty, character and integrity for the sake of money. I only hope when he puts his head on the pillow each night he realizes he has not grown the game of golf but diminished it in the worst way possible. Shame on him.
Mike Corcoran
Beavercreek, Ohio
In the end, Phil Mickelson will be most remembered for exposing the greed of the PGA Tour (“Who is Phil? Questions swirl on Mickelson’s rollercoaster ride,” August 14 GGP).
The tour has since doubled its purses, and even is paying the players who missed the cuts now. For doing that, Mickelson is a hero to every current and future PGA Tour player.
It’s funny that Ron Green wrote about all of the good and bad things that Mickelson has done but forgot to mention that.
Charlie Benz
Orange, California
Great article on Phil Mickelson by Ron Green (“Who is Phil? Questions swirl on Mickelson’s rollercoaster ride,” August 14 GGP).
I think about a kid who started out with a mega smile and mega talent (and a giant ego to match) who could never quite reconcile as the years unfolded the fact that Tiger Woods played in the same era as he, had just as big of a smile, verifiably greater talent and golf IQ, and a much larger and broader fan base.
I think Mickelson resented Woods from the beginning because he felt denied all the attention and accolades that he thought he deserved.
Donald Lowman
Westport, Connecticut
Phil Mickelson is such a contradiction in every way (“Who is Phil? Questions swirl on Mickelson’s rollercoaster ride,” August 14 GGP).
He seemed to be the second coming of Arnold Palmer, and then he started shooting himself in the foot on a regular basis. Some – my wife, Carolyn, among them – thought Mickelson was a phony from the get-go, an Eddie Haskell of sorts. But his generosity and fearless honesty at times pulled you back from such an easy analysis of his motivations.
He does seem to think he is the smartest man in the room at all times; but some believe if that is the case you must actually be the sucker in the room because you are overconfident.
That overconfidence and tendency to think he has it all figured out and his willingness to gamble he is right, regardless of reputational risk, has put Mickelson in his current predicament.
America loves a redemption story, but I am not sure he is capable of the humility and self-sacrifice it might take to make that journey.
The news that is plaguing him now is not new. It is just slowly leaking out as past events play out in salacious interviews and book excerpts. His celebrity, money and guile saved him on the insider-trading case, but he is no longer going to get the benefit of the doubt going forward.
Has the LIV Golf payout made up for all the gambling losses and his declining and disappearing endorsement revenue? It is hard to know the true calculus. Also, what happens with the merger of LIV and the PGA Tour in terms of reintegration of players that could lift all boats and redeem the LIV defectors?
My guess is that Mickelson will refuse to go quietly in the night. Hopefully for his sake he will find a path back to relevance and respect in the game.
David McLauchlan
Chicago, Illinois
Ron Green’s thought-provoking column covers the entirety of the ups and downs of any particular personality who is thrust into the limelight by way of achievement (“Who is Phil? Questions swirl on Mickelson’s rollercoaster ride,” August 14 GGP).
Phil Mickelson has done it his way, which doesn’t mean it was right or wrong but how he chose to live it. I commend him for at least standing up and being vocal about things he knew and felt he could impact by bringing to light and discussing with the powers-that-be controlling life's outcomes.
I enjoy watching LIV Golf, the team aspect of it and the commentary that David Feherty brings to our human condition (honesty). Aside from money and competition, it looks to be a healthy endeavor.
Lefty is Lefty, nonetheless. And it doesn't have to be “loud” to be popular.
Thomas Mancuso
Rochester, New York
The PGA Tour’s response to LIV, with inflated purses and the creation of a cash cow for its top 50 players, definitely has the appearance of greed. But there’s also an argument that the best players on the planet can’t come close to what the less-than-best players on the planet in other sports make in guaranteed money.
In golf, the players make their money for a year based on their performance for that year. Other sports’ player contracts are based on past performance and what they’re projected to do in the future.
Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals signed a $245 million, seven-year, guaranteed contract immediately after their 2019 World Series win. That contract has paid Strasburg $140 million since 2020, or $35 million per year. During those four years (he’s out for the rest of 2023), he has pitched a total of 31⅓ innings. It appears as if he may never pitch again; even so, he’ll still pocket the $105 million owed on the remainder of his contract.
Guys such as Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy would have to have player-of-the-year-type seasons and win the FedEx Cup to earn that much. And only one of them can win the FedEx Cup.
The PGA Tour and commissioner Jay Monahan sat on their bags of cash all these years. Had they reacted more to what Phil Mickelson had been saying for years and not waited for LIV to force their hand, the new tour wouldn’t look so greedy.
Charlie Jurgonis
Fairfax, Virginia
Very nice article by Lewine Mair regarding getting girls into golf (“A clear path toward future,” Aug. 14 GGP).
I was always dead jealous (the only time in my life!) of the boys with whom I played cards and tennis when they said they couldn’t play because they were going off to play golf. I was one of five and living in the sticks, and I didn’t dare to ask my parents if I could try it out.
I would have loved the Operation 36 when I was aged 10 or so. We have a great programme at Petersfield and have a few girls involved.
I loved the practice day at Walton Heath and was impressed by the number of families there. Overheard by a young daughter: “Daddy, what’s that funny clicking noise?” It was Charley Hull’s clubs in her bag as the caddie carried them as they approached the 18th green.
One day I intend to go and play at Lamberhurst Golf Club in Kent where the boys used to go and play all those years ago.
Ann Saunders
Petersfield, Hampshire, England
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