Reactions? Phil Mickelson Wins 2013 The Open Championship

Karma, preparation, experience and incredible skill on a fiery links added up to a historic win by Phil Mickelson, who captures his fifh major and is a U.S. Open away from the career Grand Slam.

He appropriately joins a list of superstar winners at Muirfield and put away a leaderboard for the ages. It's hard to image a more impressive win and validation of both Mickelson's career along with Muirfield as a venue.

Your kneejerk reactions...

Phil Wants To Know More About The Hanoverians And Jacobites

From a Herald story on Phil Mickelson's pre-Scottish Open press conference:

Mickelson, who posted a record sixth runners-up finish in the US Open last month, is finalising his preparations for the third major championship of the year by playing in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open.
Castle Stuart is just five miles away from Culloden, which in April 1746 saw the final confrontation of the Jacobite Rebellion where English troops defeated those of Bonnie Prince Charlie.

"There are some plans to check out the battlefields of the war back in 1746 between the Hanoverians and the Jacobites," said Mickelson, whose wife and children are with him in Scotland. "I'm not sure, I've got to read up on it."

For Phil "In the end it wasn't strategy but execution."

Stepping back from the U.S. Open for a day to consider Phil Mickelson's incredible sixth runner-up finish and while a lot of people want to question his decision to leave the driver in the locker or his putting (everyone stunk on the greens at Merion), it will all really go back to the decision on the short par-3 13th that cost him a spot in a playoff.

From an unbylined USA Today story:

But he hit a pitching wedge instead of a gap wedge to the hole, flying the green and leaving himself with a pitch from the rough he had no way of getting close to the hole. He made bogey, then compounded his error on No. 15 by quitting on a gap wedge and leaving it so short he had to chip from the front of the green for another bogey.

In the end it wasn't strategy but execution.

"Thirteen and 15 were the two bad shots of the day that I'll look back on where I let it go," Mickelson said.

I was standing behind the 13th green after Mickelson's shot with USGA Executive Director Mike Davis, who pointed out that there was a line about 20 feet left of the hole location that a shot with proper spin could take and like spin right to within 10 or so feet of the hole, mitigating the risk.

Video: Phil To Mike Davis On 274-Yard 3rd: "Terrible"

Thanks to GolfChannel.com's Jay Coffin for Tweeting this video where NBC's crack audio team picking up a frank conversation between Phil Mickelson and USGA Executive Director Mike Davis after the 3rd hole, which played 274 yards into the wind.

The transcript:

"274?  That's terrible. Can't even reach it."

The hole was playing straight into the wind as forecasted.

Update on 2013-06-17 14:19 by Geoff

**Mike Davis's response after the round:

Q.  Phil expressed his displeasure about the third hole setup.  How do you feel with the way the wind was coming and did you feel like you got that one right?

MIKE DAVIS:  Well, let me start out by Phil is a class act.  He was nothing but complimentary week from the standpoint of he embraced this golf course, which is great.  He saw all the architecture when he played the third hole today.

We set the golf course up today for a south wind.  So you saw us move tee markers up.  For instance, if you're playing the 18th hole, you're dead into what would be a south wind.  So that's how we set it up.  That's why we didn't go to the back tees.

When we got to the third hole, we were really getting a westerly even a northwesterly wind.  So it played long.  It played longer than we would have ‑‑ but having said that, it was a back hole location that was the most receptive on the green, we felt that it could handle 3‑wood shots, if need be.  So anyway, I mean, he mentioned that he thought it was too long.  That's fine.  We wouldn't have put the tee markers back where we did had we known we were going to get that wind.

But he was terrific and to be a six‑time runner‑up in the National Open Championship is ‑‑ well, it's not only a record, but it's a ‑‑ he's a very classy about it.

All Good: Phil Heads Back To California...Not To Practice

Jim McCabe with the news of Phil Mickelson heading back to Rancho Santa Fe Tuesday to be at his daughter's 8th grade graduation on Wednesday.

He'll be back at Merion for Thursday's first round.

Having long ago decided to be home in Rancho Santa Fe the Wednesday before the first round of the U.S. Open to attend his daughter Amanda’s graduation from eighth grade, Mickelson got home even earlier thanks to the weather in Greater Philadelphia. The lefthander, having tied for second Sunday at the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis, was on site Monday at Merion, but never did more than hit a few balls. When the heavy rain came and he saw that more precipitation was in the forecast for Tuesday, Mickelson decided to get back to some California sun and family duties.

Phil On Augusta's Greens: "Nothing scary like they used to be."

Very interesting stuff from Phil Mickelson in response to yours truly asking about the condition of Augusta National, the firmness of the course, the shift from Wednesday to Thursday, and how Augusta National isn't has scary as it used to be.

I think it's (A) a statement about how fast regular tour stop greens have been getting, and (B) a product of the recent attempts to reintroduce drama and scoring.

Anyway, Phil, take it away...

Q.  You mentioned that the course is closer to tournament conditions; do you think we'll see a little less of that kind of flip of the switch from Wednesday to Thursday?  And also, the fairways look like they are a little bit thicker, lusher; do you think that's going to have an impact on how things play out?

PHIL MICKELSON:  So the grass is in incredible shape.  It's probably ‑‑ I mean, every year we come out and talk about how pristine Augusta is, but the reason I believe this is the best I've ever seen it is the areas that over the years have historically given problems or been thin, like the fairway shot on 13, even around the green on 12, where you don't get as much sun exposure, these are perfect.  The areas that have historically had problems are not having a problem this year.  They are perfect.

But as far as that switch you talk about going from Wednesday or Thursday, there has not been a switch in five years.  We make bigger divots on these greens than we make on the regular PGA TOUR.  These greens are softer than what we play week‑in and week‑out.  They are slightly faster, but nothing scary like they used to be.  They are more undulated but they are maybe a foot faster than what we play on the TOUR.  And quite honestly, they have been softer the last five years than anything we play on TOUR other than Pebble or something like that.

Fighting words! Does a certain three-time champion want the greens a little firmer, perhaps?

So when we used to have to know the course and know how the ball was going to be running and feeding, the ball doesn't run.  We are hitting 6‑irons that are stopping within a foot.  It's historically, like I say, only been the last five years, there's been no switch on Thursday and the greens have been soft.  You can fire at a lot of these pins without any fear.  I mean, I'm backing it up on some of those holes that I've never backed it up on.

So that fear factor has not been there, and I don't anticipate them going back to the way we expect.  I think it's going to stay kind of soft.

Phil & Condi Whap It Around ANGC, Talk Countries & Courses

Doug Ferguson on Sunday's Phil Mickelson-Condoleeza Rice round at Augusta National that included a long putt drained by the former Secretary of State. Shotlink had the 18th hole putt at...oh right, we don't do ShotLink at the majors. TMI!

Anyway, this was noteworthy...

Rice later donned her green jacket to meet with other members on the practice range.

She slipped away without taking questions. Members typically don't give interviews during the week of the Masters. Mickelson couldn't stop talking about her - especially her 40-foot par putt on the 18th hole. He says Rice asked him about courses, and he asked her about countries.

Update on 2013-04-08 02:35 by Geoff

**Ferguson files a longer story on the Rice-Mickelson game and how it came about along with how golf on Sunday at Augusta National works.

A Ron Williams photo also accompanies the story.

"Awesome," Mickelson said after playing 18 holes with his agent and Augusta members Rice and Lee Styslinger. "She's one of my favorite people to be around. She's so knowledgeable and interesting to talk to. I always learn so much. When I saw she became a member, one of the first things I did was schedule a game close to Masters time. The fact she's here, we were able to work it out. It was really cool."

Apparently Golf Channel had the first images of Ms. Rice in green and showed it on Golf Central Sunday.