Mickelson’s fall from grace hits home, plus golf bites and bites

Once upon a time it was oh-so-fitting that Phil Mickelson was the host of this week’s PGA Tour event, called the American Express since 2020 but for so long known as the Bob Hope Classic or, more familiarly, the Hope.

After all, there’s been no bigger man of the people in professional golf over the last 30 years than Mickelson. He endeared himself to so many with his go-for-broke style, brilliant short game and considerable confidence. Even when he lost — and he lost big on occasion — he won with his legion of fans who felt his pain and pitied him. Champion or chump, Mickelson gave more thumbs up than Siskel and Ebert and always wore that aw-shucks, goofy grin.

Yes, some of his PGA Tour brethren deemed him phoney, but to the people he was forever Phil the Thrill. And, like Hope, he always entertained.

How things have changed.

A year ago, Mickelson played in the American Express and performed horribly, missing the 54-hole cut (the tournament is played as a pro-am) with scores of 78-73-72. Contrary to his custom, he kept a low profile that week, with his curiosity about a Saudi Arabia-funded challenger to the PGA Tour becoming more apparent.

You know what happened next. In separate interviews, Mickelson made salacious comments about the PGA Tour and the Saudis, saw his association with the American Express severed along with several other sponsorships, disappeared for months — skipping the Masters and PGA Championship — and re-emerged in June bearded, dressed in black and apparently $200 million (US) richer as LIV Golf’s biggest get.

It was a heel turn of Vince McMahon proportions. And honestly, what a rip-off.

Mickelson’s best days on the golf course were behind him, sure, even if he’d won the 2021 PGA Championship at nearly 51 years old in one of the sport’s all-time great performances. But he had years in the golfing spotlight left: as an occasional tournament threat, Ryder Cup captain, TV analyst and social media sensation.

Now? We see and hear almost nothing from him. Unless you’re one of a hundred thousand or so who streams LIV Golf events on YouTube, or read his occasional tweets on a feed that used to be insightful and humorous but is now basically LIV propaganda.

To be honest, Phil was never my guy. I took delight in his on-course blunders and wondered why his turbulent play was adored when it so countered the tactical, methodical, successful style of Tiger Woods. And I did think he was a phoney because nobody can be that nice all the time. Not unless you’re Fred Rogers.

But as Mickelson aged and mellowed, I came to appreciate his place in golf. He was witty, he was articulate, he was a mentor to the next generation of players. He even became more disciplined between the ropes, which I enjoyed. He forged a friendship — sort of — with Woods, which was a nice turn of events.

Then he undid it all, and his absence this week from the tournament he previously hosted, founded by one of golf’s biggest supporters, is a startling reminder of all that went wrong and all that we have and will be deprived of.

Bites and Bites

Adam Hadwin will make his first appearance of 2023 this week at the American Express. His T25 and T32 results in the tournament the last two years sure look paltry compared to the four-year stretch before them — when he finished T6, second, T3 and T2, carding a 59 in the third round of 2017 … The Korn Ferry Tour is up and running again with its traditional Sunday-Wednesday event in the Bahamas. If there’s a dim light amid all the success Canadian men are having on the PGA Tour these days, it’s that there aren’t many signs of a strong next wave coming. That Bahamas event features just three Canadians — Roger Sloan, Wil Bateman and Richard Jung — and only Bateman, at 29, is under 30. He and the veteran Sloan have full status on the Korn Ferry circuit, while Jung will see regular starts only with a strong start to the season … What Canadian golf course that you’ve never played do you want to see the most? For me, it’s BC’s Sagebrush. I’ve heard extreme positives and negatives about the course from people I respect. I need to form my own opinion… From a friend regarding the trailer for “Full Swing,” Netflix’s upcoming PGA Tour show: “All the clichés seem to have been used up.” The concern over that much-anticipated series has always been that professional golfers tend not to reveal much. I’ll withhold judgment until it begins… Brooke Henderson snagged two wins, including a major championship, last season. Will she have an even better year in 2023? I say yes, and I would love to see her make a serious run at the US Women’s Open, the biggest tournament in women’s golf — this year at one of the sport’s most iconic venues, Pebble Beach. She’s in action this week at the Tournament of Champions, where she was runner-up a year ago.

Obscure thought of the week

Shopping would go a lot faster if we all bagged or boxed our groceries in the parking lot, not at the checkout station. Think about it.

Jason Logan is the editor of SCOREGolf magazine, which is co-owned by Torstar, Star’s parent company. He is based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @jasonSCOREGolf

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