
For the first time in ages, Phil Mickelson headlines the major golf story of the week in the Farmers Insurance Open held at Torrey Pines. With Tiger Woods on his indefinite leave, the media swarmed to the next best thing at Phil’s press conference, where we finally got to hear his thoughts (or lack thereof) on the revelations surrounding his frenemy, Tiger.
Phil kicked off the presser by reading a prepared statement. Talking points included Tiger, the groove change, his game, and of course, his family. In other words, he took control of the situation, or simply, a media manipulation tactic:
Before we talk about that and the tournament, there’s a few other areas I’d like to discuss before we go into that. The first is obviously Tiger. That’s a common topic. The game of golf needs him to come back. I mean, it’s important for him to come back and be a part of the sport. But right now he’s got a lot more important things going on in his life. Amy and I are good friends with both Tiger and Elin, and we care deeply about how this turns out. But I’m going to choose not to talk about it publicly anymore, and I appreciate your understanding on that.
But this didn’t stop reporters from pressing him on the topic. Asked if he had tried to contact Tiger, “either through calling or text,” he stood by his no comment policy, politely replying, “You know, we’ve had limited communication with the Woodses, and again, I just feel like discussing any of that is just not appropriate.” But has he had contact with him? “With the family, not necessarily saying with who in the family.” So, no, he likely hasn’t directly spoken to Tiger.
When questioned on the prolific coverage of the scandal, he shrewdly cast it back at the press:
As far as the media exposure or coverage, reaction, I think it’s more a question for you. That’s your industry. That’s what you guys do for a living. How do you feel it was covered? I don’t know, that’s more of a question for you guys.
Phil also confirmed the report he would be playing with an old Ping Eye-2 lob wedge, which has been a contentious matter since it doesn’t technically conform to the new groove rule, but was grandfathered in following a lawsuit. Unlike some players who have voiced their disapproval of the loophole, deeming it as a form of cheating, Phil disagrees:
After talking about the TOUR and the USGA, the only thing that matters is are they approved for play. So I don’t feel that there’s any problem if I were to play those clubs or if anybody else were. All that matters is that it is OK under the rules of golf.
He freely voiced his disdain for the groove change:
You know, this affects my career. This is a big change. I think it’s a ridiculous change. I think that it costs each manufacturer millions of dollars. I think it’s confusing, and I don’t agree with it one bit.
His viewpoint caught me a bit off-guard, considering he’s celebrated for his deftness around the greens. But perhaps his disapproval stems from his bomb-and-gauge style of play, and the new grooves will make things tougher on those guys, according to Ryan Moore. Phil is also known for his sometimes questionable decision-making on the course and players will have to make smarter decisions and have more trouble recovering from missed shots.
Phil went on to discuss his optimistic feelings about his game and prognosticates this year will be one of the best of his career — with or without Tiger. He believes he has the opportunity to “challenge” Tiger’s throne and move to the number-one spot, which he says is something he’s aspired to his whole career, but he just “hasn’t had much success.” Even if Phil surpasses Tiger in the rankings, there will still be an asterisk that goes along with the title (it doesn’t count unless he does it with Tiger actually competing). I guess he’ll take it, though.
Going into Torrey Pines this week, Phil is the overwhelming favorite given his past success at the tournament, including three wins. Not surprisingly, the world’s number two is now the most beloved player — the one who is the quintessential family man, gracious to the media, friendly with fans and always smiling (or secretly smirking these days).
After living in Tiger’s shadow for over a decade, Phil now has the limelight to himself. Get ready for FIGJAM-squared. Just hope he doesn’t run over a fire hydrant in 2010.

Can any more bad news hit the Mickelson family?
at Bethpage Black. I found that pretty inconsiderate. No matter what, family and health come first- Those are the two things that really matter in life; anything else is insignificant. I don’t care what the conditions or stakes are. So, I was rather surprised when I read headlines like, “Phil Chooses Family” or “Phil Is A Family Man.” I mean, I’d hope that he’d be at his wife’s side considering she had just been diagnosed with a life-threatening disease.
With that said, did we really think that Phil would miss the U.S. Open? At Bethpage Black, no less? It is the same major championship held at the same venue where in 2002 Phil was runner-up to his “archnemesis,” the one and only 

The heading says it all. A presser was released this morning that 