Mickelson, Spieth Okay With Extending Augusta's 5th Hole

On news of plans filed to lengthen Augusta National's 5th hole, GolfChannel.com's Will Gray went to players with the premise and while Graeme McDowell could not get excited, former Masters champions Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth were largely positive about the concept.

“I’m a big fan of making the hard holes harder and the easy holes easier,” Mickelson said Sunday at the Genesis Open. “So making No. 5 harder, which is perennially a difficult par, or should be one of the harder par-4s out there, I’m a big fan of. What I’m not a fan of is taking a hole like 7 and making it the second-toughest par on the golf course. I think that’s a mistake. I think making 5 more difficult is not.”

Jordan Spieth believes the proposed changes would force driver into players’ hands on what he described as a “3-wood hole” given the pitch of the fairway, and added that firm and fast conditions could potentially push a longer fifth hole to the brink of playability.

“It would make an already very difficult hole even harder,” Spieth said.

Phil's 213th In Driving Accuracy, Up In Distance And Bullish On His Prospects In 2018

It's always fun when Phil Mickelson talks these days--an increasingly rare opportunity for the press--so enjoy Dave Shedloski's GolfDigest.com item on Lefty's improved distance but less-than-appealing driving accuracy numbers (213th). Because you know there's a theory behind it all!

But it’s a change you can’t see. No, he is still swashbuckling Phil. But perhaps the new iteration won’t have to be so gosh-darn entertaining. Which would make him eminently more competitive.

An offseason leg-strengthening program might soon pay dividends. Always enamored with the long ball, Mickelson is averaging 305 yards off the tee, 13 yards longer than his driving average in 2017. He ranks 39th on tour in that category. His clubhead speed, he said, has increased four miles per hour, and his ball speed is up significantly, too.

“My legs were always very passive in my swing, and now I’m able to get more of a whip effect and push off the ground,” he explained. “It’s increased the speed right away. From a biomechanical standpoint, I’ve always had plenty of upper body speed, including the hands, but I was weak using my legs for power.”

And why is this cause for encouragement?

“The two areas that I’ve been weak in over the last five years and have held me back are driving and short putts, and I believe they are both becoming strengths,” he said. “If that’s the case, then I’m going to have a good year. I believe what I’m doing is going to make a huge difference.”

Mickelson opened with a 69 at Spyglass Hill.

Tim Mickelson Now Phil's Full Time Bagman, Client Jon Rahm Stays With Lagardere

For Immediate Release...

JON RAHM UPDATES MANAGEMENT TEAM AT LAGARDÈRE SPORTS

New York, Dec. 1, 2017 – Jon Rahm, the No. 4 ranked golf player in the world, today has updated his management team at Lagardere Sports going into 2018.   

Tim Mickelson, who was previously Rahm’s agent, has transitioned to serving as the full-time caddy for Phil Mickelson going forward. Rahm’s team at Lagardère Sports for management and marketing representation now includes Steve Loy, President of Golf, and Jeff Koski, Player Manager, in the U.S., and Jamie Evans, Director of European Golf, in Europe. 

“Coach Mickelson will always be important to me and has done many good things to support my career, and I wish him and Phil well in their new partnership,” said Rahm. “I am excited to continue working with Steve and Jeff, who originally recruited me to Lagardère Sports, and have Jaime join the team from Europe. I also have a great team around me, starting with my family, girlfriend, Kelley, Caddy, Adam, Teacher and Trainer, and my Sports Psychologist. I am really excited to continue working with the team at Lagardère Sports and get the 2018 season under way.”

Video: Mickelson Says "Let's Take A Moment To Admire That I Just Hit A Fairway"

Fun stuff in the final round at Safeway Open, where Mickelson hit 15 of 56 fairways, though as he noted post-round as captured by PGATour.com's Mike McAllister, some are as narrow as 13 yards in spots.

Despite only hitting his 15th fairway of the entire tournament, Phil’s got jokes... 😂😂😂

A post shared by PGA TOUR (@pgatour) on Oct 8, 2017 at 4:54pm PDT

Task For Bros: Tiger And Phil Show They're Friends, But Will They Hang Around When The Other Wins (Again)?

Of course not, but it's still nice to see these two rivals and Task Force partners sharing in the celebratory mood and no doubt thanking their bud Tom Watson for helping bring everyone closer together. Next thing you know they'll be hanging out by the 18th green the next time one of them wins a golf tournament.

This big hug followed Team USA's 2017 Presidents Cup win.

After play, the two insisted it's the media's fault for not seeing what friends they are, reports Will Gray for GolfChannel.com. Tiger:

“I think the press has made it out to be more than what it has been. We’ve been friends for a very long time,” Woods said. “We’ve had some tough moments where we’ve lost some cups, and also the flip side is we’ve had some great success. Hopefully, going forward, we can continue doing it.”

Video: Day & Mickelson On Dan Patrick, Things Get (Fun) Feisty!

There is some fun stuff in this 14 minute exchange, particularly between Phil Mickelson and Dan Patrick starting around the 3:30 mark. It's all in good fun!

Patrick also asks some good questions about match play and the Presidents Cup.

Mickelson, by the way, has resigned with Callaway for the rest of his competitive life.

Birkdale: Phil Going Driverless, For Now

From what I've seen of the course, I'm not surprised by this move reported on by GolfChannel.com's Rex Hoggard.

Mickelson arrived early on Tuesday to tinker with a modified 3-iron, a Callaway Epic model, that has been bent to 16 degrees, which is closer to a 2-iron loft.

He also had a 3-iron in the bag with standard loft as well as his normal 3-wood during his practice round with Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.

Things may change for many players should the winds get going and tomorrow's forecasted rain slow the course down, but even then it's just hard to imagine with the rough and lack of width that most of today's players need their driver at Royal Birkdale.

He spoke to Golf Channel:

Phil Just Wants To Talk About The Good Times With Bones

With his PGA Tour return at the Greenbrier Classic and last start before The Open, Phil Mickelson is understandably getting asked questions about his breakup with longtime bagman Jim "Bones" Mackay.

Will Gray at GolfChannel.com with the Facebook-like post spin about keeping focused on the good times. However Mickelson did suggest he is looking for something to ignire a still-sound game that has not been able to reach the winner's circle.

"I would say that after having not won for four years, knowing that my game is at a level that is good enough to win but not having done it, I think the one thing is an element of maybe being comfortable with my brother," he said. "Maybe he gets me a little more relaxed and takes a little pressure off me, and maybe I'll play my best that way. But there's no replacing Bones. He's phenomenal."

"Phil's Insider-Trading Escape"

In a special to GolfDigest.com, New Yorker staff writer and CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin considers the Billy Walters insider trading case and concludes that Phil Mickelson escaped more serious prosecution thanks to a legal quirk.

It's a long piece but as with all Toobin stories, a good read.

The key conclusion:

But Mickelson's legal odyssey had a final twist. The Newman case, decided by the Second Circuit in December 2014, effectively prevented a criminal prosecution against Mickelson. But while the criminal prosecution of Walters was pending, the United States Supreme Court took up another case from California, which had limited insider-trading law in a nearly identical way that Newman had done in New York. In a unanimous decision in December 2016, the Supreme Court rejected the Newman rule and held that recipients of inside information could be prosecuted even if they didn't know what the original tipper received. In other words, Mickelson might have been prosecuted if his case had arisen before December 2014 or after December 2016. But because the Newman case was the law in New York when his case came up, Mickelson dodged trouble on either side—just as he did between those two trees at Augusta.

"Mickelson was from Mars, Mackay from Venus, and they ruled in their own universe."

As brother Tim Mickelson takes over looping for brother Phil (DiMeglio/USAToday), the San Diego Union-Tribune's Tod Leonard salutes the Jim "Bones" Mackay run of 25 years despite his shock at the news.

He writes:

This is Lucy divorcing Desi. In a pressure-cooker sport in which some caddies change partners as often as Taylor Swift rotates beaus, Phil and “Bones” working more than 550 tournaments together with not so much as a single public spat borders on being a miracle.

Let’s be real: The fact “Bones” didn’t strangle Phil on numerous occasions makes him something of a saint.

Rex Hoggard says it was fitting that one of the great player-caddie runs ended two weeks ago in Memphis where it all began.

“I do think every time I come back here, 25 years ago to the day basically on Monday, Tuesday, it was at Farmington Golf Course was the first day that Bones and I ever worked together. It was exactly 25 years ago this week,” Mickelson said on June 7. “Every time I come back here to Memphis I always think about that and that particular moment.”

Phil & Bones Part Ways After 25 Years

It'll go down with the legendary player-caddie partnerships of Ouimet/Lowery, Nicklaus/Angelo, Watson/Edwards, Trevino/Mitchell, which makes the news all the more shocking.

The Jim Mackay statement breaking the news:

Statement from Bones and Phil. They are parting ways after 25 years. pic.twitter.com/FVI3vSvIA9

— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) June 20, 2017

Phil Statement:

Statement from Phil regarding Bones breakup. #damn pic.twitter.com/9pJfJvXQfN

— Jay Coffin (@JayCoffinGC) June 20, 2017

 

Update on Tuesday, June 20, 2017 at 08:27 PM by Geoff

**John Feinstein and I discussed on Golf Central...

Phil On The U.S. Open: "I can still make it"

Yes it's a longshot, but two important hurdles were cleared for Phil Mickelson to make a last-ditch effort to play this year's U.S. Open at Erin Hills and do so controversy-free.

The first is reported by Tim Rosaforte at Golf World, who lays out Mickelson's plan should any weather delay impact tee times. The forecast current suggests bad weather Wednesday, but not Thursday.

However, if there was a delay, Mickelson could conceivably land at a private airport in Hartford, Wis., just 15 minutes by car from the Open venue.

“I’m looking forward to seeing Amanda graduation and watching her make her speech,” Mickelson said. “But I can still make it. You never know. I think it’s possible.”

A second hurdle is more nuanced but equally important: the USGA has relented on alternates playing practice rounds.

In the past, had Phil remained in the field until Thursday, his possible replacement would have been forbidden from playing a practice round. But as Doug Ferguson reports, the USGA has studied their data and determined it's ok for alternates to bring their sticks and play the course.

Jeff Hall, the USGA's managing director of rules and open championships, said recent history at the U.S. Open has shown that with most players practicing in the morning, there would be room to accommodate first alternates in the afternoon.

The U.S. Open starts June 15, the first one held in Wisconsin.

''We haven't been overly public with it,'' Hall said. ''But we've been communicating to the alternates that they will be entitled to play.''

Ferguson this would apply to teh 12 first alternates from Sectionals. A nice perk too should they make the journey but not get in.