"Mickelson's Torrey Pines Vision Taking Shape"

Tod Leonard on the unveiling of Torrey Pines North's first three holes as Phil Mickelson would like to update them.

Most of it sounds solid, but some of this type of earth moving in the wrong hands could backfire:

Most significantly, three bunkers that guard the front of the first green would become one smaller bunker to the right-middle, while Angus said a bank on the left side would kick balls toward the hole. There is a swale to the short right of the green that golfers might find if they go for the hole in two shots.

• At the par-5 first, current fairway bunkers that are closer to the white tees will be eliminated, with new bunkers requiring carries of 278 and 310 yards for the pros. Where most amateurs would land, the fairway would be widened and raised to provide better views of the ocean. The green would be lowered by 8 feet to show off more water.

Phil: "I don’t think you can take away what you’ve allowed players to use, practise and play with for 30 years."

An AFP report quotes Phil Mickelson saying a ban on anchoring would be "grossly unfair.”

“It’s not an issue that I’m involved with, I understand both sides. It’s just that I don’t think you can take away what you’ve allowed players to use, practise and play with for 30 years. I think it is grossly unfair,” he said.

You may recall that Mickelson briefly toyed with the belly putter at the 2011 Deutsche Bank Championship.

Video: Phil's End Zone Shot

I don't think Phil Mickelson's MNF chip shot for charity was nearly as bad as the Tweets made it out to be. In fact, considering the circumstances it's pretty impressive.

Though he probably forgot to compensate for the extra few yards of artificial turf mat bounce.

Berman! ESPN Opts Out Of Phil's Halftime Shot To Discuss What Will Ray Lewis Do Next?

I feel like I've lived my worst nightmare, turning on Monday Night Football to see Phil Mickelson's cool attempt to try a shot in front of 60,000 Chargers fans during halftime. And what does ESPN give us? Halftime highlights, notes and profound discussions anchored by Chris Berman. And once again, he wasn't as entertaining as this.

So there is no video (yet), just this photo from KPMG and a report on PGATour.com that Mickelson earned $50,000 for First Book.

Update on 2012-10-16 06:04 by Geoff

**From an unbylined AP story:

The crowd responded with a mixture of boos and cheers when Lefty's shot missed the circles.

"I must have had a little bit more adrenaline because the ball was a little bit long. I thought I hit a pretty good shot but it flew long," Mickelson said.

Still, he had a good time.

"I haven't had this experience. This is an amazing experience. In golf, we don't get this," he said. "The 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale has nothing on this. This was awesome, seeing the Jumbotron with my picture, as I'm looking up taking the shot, that was unique. That was something that was pretty cool."

Here is Phil on ESPN before the game talking about the Ryder Cup loss and dealing with a mess of a question from Steve Young.

And there's a neat shot of Mickelson at the top of his backswing with Jonathan Wall's Yahoo blog post.

Phil Attempting Million Dollar MNF Shot

Alex Myers with the details on a KPMG charity event during halftime of the October 15 Monday Night Football game between the Chargers and Broncos.

Gala Dinner: Alan Shipnuck's Red Carpet Report

Alan Shipnuck braved the Ryder Cup gala dinner and was pleasantly surprised by Justin Timberlake's hosting effort and the overall decency of the evening.

The best look was definitely Dustin Johnson’s faux-hawk, if you don’t count the perpetual bedhead of Jason Dufner and Brandt Snedeker. The wives were free to pick their own gowns and they looked stunning. Bonus points to Kim (Mrs. Zach) Johnson for rocking blue satin while very pregnant. I would strongly encourage male readers to Google pictures of Amanda (Mrs. Jason) Dufner, Diane (Mrs. Luke) Donald, and Amanda Caulder, Dustin Johnson’s special friend. Jason Dufner looks increasingly like Alfred E. Newman; I tweeted from the red carpet about him being "overmarried" and before the night was out he replied, "Why would u ever under marry...DUH!!!"

This was also a fun image...

The players were then sequestered backstage and I returned to my seat to catch the musical stylings of Chicago, the classic rock group comprised of guys who are as leathery as Amy Mickelson’s dress. The set went on for an excruciatingly long time, but everyone else seemed to love it. I even peeped PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem boogeying in his seat, lip-synching a few lyrics. Which explains a lot, I think.

Golf.com has a 31 page gallery from the red carpet, including a shot of what Shipnuck called the hardest working button in golf: the one on Darren Clarke's dinner jacket.

Update on 2012-09-27 16:52 by Geoff

**Another excellent Gala slideshow from my colleagues at GolfDigest.com.

Phil Not Quite Yet Part Of Padres Ownership Group

From an unbylined FoxSports.com story on the new Padres ownership group's first press conference Wednesday that did not include Phil Mickelson.

Mickelson was prominently absent on the list of investors revealed Wednesday upon the close of the sale by former owner John Moores. Instead, it was San Diego businessman Ron Fowler and four grandsons of longtime Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers patriarch Walter O'Malley — Kevin O'Malley, Brian O'Malley, Peter Seidler and Tom Seidler — who were presented to the media.

Those new owners pooh-poohed Mickelson's absence.

"We have a spot in our group for Phil and only Phil,” Peter Seidler said, according to UTSanDiego.com. “We expect that to be finalized in two weeks."