I Miss The Old Phil Mickelson....Sort Of

With Phil Mickelson's third victory at Augusta, he joins a select group of golfers who have won a total of three or more green jackets who include Tiger Woods, Jack Nickalus and the great Sam Snead.

The Phil Mickelson story has been one of the more compelling golf stories (not named Tiger Woods) with both his wife and mother being diagnosed with breast cancer and it was a nice end to the tournament with Phil's one single tear for his wife as she hugged him at the 18th green.

However, there is some part of me that wants to see the old Phil who was known for coming up short and making bonehead decisions. I don't know why, it's something that I can't explain. Phil Mickelson and Winner, those words just seem foreign to me on some level like peanut butter and sauerkraut.

Every sport needs that talented player or team that consistently came short on the grandest stage. Phil was that in the world of golf and we loved him for that, much like the Cubs in baseball, he was the lovable loser that we cheered for no matter what cost where we essentially knew that he would come up short.

Now, that has completely changed, Phil has his place in history as one of the golfing greats and arguably the best golfer in the world at the moment. As much as I love the fact that Phil has finally decided to break through and take over his sport for this period of time, there is part of me that wants to see Phil somehow snatch failure out of the jaws of victory.

While Tiger Woods is dealing with his 15 paramours and irritated wife, Phil's career has changed it's course and he will become the guy who everyone wants to be and who advertisers covet. It's a far-cry from the guy who hadn't won a major for almost twelve years in the PGA circuit and had the infamous, "Major Monkey" on his back.

During the Masters, there were many opportunities for Phil to crumble from that infamous pine seed to his terrible tee shot on 12 which landed him in the rough. Instead of collapsing like a folding chair, Phil persevered and landed the victory.

Phil's legacy has been changed from lovable loser to three-time Master champion but in the end, "failure" Phil is just a memory for Mickelson now but I will always remember him.

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Bethpage: Not For the Pros

Lucas Glover won the US Open at Bethpage Black on Monday. You can get your info through other venues, so I won't go into details. Suffice it to say that the conditions weren't great (including the "mud ball" seen in the vid above), Glover was persistent and lucky, and he beat out story lines Phil Mickelson and David Duval (and, of course, Tiger). Ricky Barnes, who shot a record 132 over the first 36, joined Mickelson and Duval in second place. Mickelson becomes the leader in runner-up finishes for the US Open, having come in second five times. Tiger finished tied for 6th after winning last year, four shots back.

More importantly, however, comes this gem from USA Today. Apparently, Stars Wars ain't the only phenomenon that gets fans to line up days in advance. Actually, this is kind of like a cross between waiting for Star Wars and going to the drive-in/tail-gaiting for a football game. From early last week, fans showed up at Bethpage to play on the same course their idols would soon play. Some had to wait for days. The best line: "Started playing when I was 32, when I got married, and the golf has lasted a lot longer than the marriage. I can tell you that much. So, that's why we're here."

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"FORGETTTA BOUT IT"

Usually, I am not really a fan of these ESPN "cut-away skits" but this is actually pretty funny.

ESPN asked some players since the US Open is being played at BethPaige Black to try out their New York accents.

Let's just say that no one is going to confuse any of them with New Yorkers anytime soon.

(Courtesy of NESW Sports)

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