Mickelson's "Intent" Revealed: To Drive Finchem Batty

Mauricio, this is Mr. Finchem's office calling, we would like to move up that color session scheduled for next week to this week.

Oh, Mr. Daly acting up again?

No.

Mr. Woods?

No.

Mr. Mickelson?

Yes Mauricio, you obviously saw the telecast. So how about Thursday, just be at the airport and the Falcon will take you up to Chicago and back, just like in May when you took care of him.

Oh I remember, the drug testing stress. Well tell Mr. Finchem I'll bring the nice light brown he prefers for the summer months.

I will tell him.

Steve Elling pieces together the details of Phil Mickelson pulling down his pants and turning a positively joyous, downright classic golf tournament into yet more millionaire bickering spilling out on national TV (I knew I should have left for the beach after NBC signed off!).

And you know the way Elling spells it out, as well as Chris Lewis (who transcribes the Jimmy Roberts interview) I think Phil's going to have people feeling sorry for the Commissioner. That's not easy to do!

If you want to read it straight from Mr. Family Man's mouth, here are the key excerpts, with the point misser and rally kill trimmed for your reading sanity. Well, except for that in-house, PGA Tour designed kill...

Q. Based on some comments on TV, is your rival now Tiger or Tim?

PHIL MICKELSON: Oh, no, no. I don't have a problem, it's just that I'm a little conflicted on some things because I'm trying to -- I want to have a balance in my life, and I certainly feel the obligation to play and support the FedExCup and to support the PGA TOUR, support the game of golf.

And I also want to have balance in my family life, and my family has sacrificed a lot this year because it's been a very difficult schedule. It's not the four FedExCup tournaments; it's the PGA, Akron right before that, only four days off after the British Open before we had to travel and playing two weeks before that, so it's been the last three months having no more than two days off at a time and working to do corporate outings in between.

Can we set this to Schubert? Maybe string quartet No. 14 to really capture the totality of this terrible man making you play so much golf for all that money in between your corporate outtings!

So our time together has struggled, and I want to have a balance there. They start school next week, so I have that conflict -- or obligation and desire to be there.

My frustration from this past year came from asking for a couple of things in the FedExCup that weren't done and not really feeling all that bad now if I happen to miss. So I'm not really sure how it's going to play out.

Like I said, he's making you feel for the Commissioner isn't he?

Q. You said a couple discussion points with Tim that you were looking for vis-á-vis the design of the Playoff structure.

PHIL MICKELSON: I don't want to go into it. Just I want to support it and I certainly feel the obligation to, but I also have to have a balance both ways.

Q. Did you talk about it this week?
PHIL MICKELSON: Every time I see him this year I bring it up.

And this would be what? Oh right, that's confidential.

Here's a nice endorsement for the playoffs, again, after a thrilling finish that has done wonders for his season, brought great attention to his sponsors, wonderful vibes for Boston fans and in general, boosted the FedEx Cup's profile....

Q. Were you more excited about the FedExCup or more excited about 2008?

PHIL MICKELSON: I'm excited about the way this week went. I loved this finish, I loved being able to play three rounds with the best player of arguably all time and certainly the best player in the world today, and to be able to come out on top feels great, and that just leads to excitement for the coming here, as well as I guess the finish of the year. But '08 is when our next major is, so that's kind of what I'm looking forward to.

Q. Are you going to play next week?
PHIL MICKELSON: I was just saying, I don't know.

Q. But you'll be in Chicago --
PHIL MICKELSON: I'm not sure. I don't know.

Q. You'll be there tomorrow, though?
PHIL MICKELSON: I'll be there tomorrow. I had already scheduled an outing I was planning on playing, but I'm not sure.

Q. If you were to skip next week, would that mean skipping the last one, too?
PHIL MICKELSON: No, I would end up going to Atlanta.
STEWART MOORE: I believe we've touched on 12 and 18. Can you briefly take us through the rest of your birdies?

Are rally kills by the in-house PGA Tour staff eligible for Rally Killer of the Year? Hmmm...

Deutsche Monday

Doug Ferguson on what figures to be an exciting Monday in Boston. I wonder if Phil is going to get some chuckles watching Tiger do whatever it is that Butch told him to watch for?

"But he [Harmon] told me a couple of things he [Woods] likes to do, and I was watching for it, and I chuckled throughout the round when I'd pick up on it."

Steve Elling files an entertaining report on Saturday's much-improved performance (19-under-par!!) from the Tiger-Phil-Vijay pairing.

It was gang engorgement, a feeding frenzy. Mickelson, ever the smirking wise guy, suggested that Woods might have been motivated to pick up his pace after Lefty started a torrid run in the middle of the round, when he played an eight-hole stretch in a blistering 7 under.

"I think Tiger got a little upset there when I got on that streak because he started out 6 under in his next six holes," Mickelson said, his math exactly right.

Oh that's good, but here's the buried lede:

Mickelson enjoyed the two days in the premier trio so much he wants more of the same in Monday's final round. Butch Harmon, his swing coach and Woods' former teacher, gave Mickelson some insider information on things to watch when playing with Woods. Mickelson declined to provide specifics, but it must have something to do with Woods' mannerisms or peccadilloes.

Maybe Woods has been demystified a bit.

"In the past I haven't really played that well with Tiger, per se," Mickelson said. "But he [Harmon] told me a couple of things he [Woods] likes to do, and I was watching for it, and I chuckled throughout the round when I'd pick up on it."

Mickelson stubbornly wouldn't offer more, other than Harmon's insight seemed to work.

"It's really helped because I find myself chuckling at it now and played much more relaxed and had a good time today," Mickelson said.

I think that pretty much eliminates any hope of a Butch-Tiger reunion.

A few other nuggets from Mickelson's press conference:

PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, figuring out how the slopes on the greens are going to take it. I love the design and I love the setup. I love the way the greens are, around the greens, the way the rough is where you can actually play shots, and I think that I'm going to plan on making this a permanent stop. This is the first time I've been here, and I can't believe I haven't been here earlier. This is a wonderful tournament for us.

Guess Phil likes fescue rough.

And on the FedEx Cup...

Q. When you first heard about the FedExCup, what was your sense then, and has it changed at all since you've started to play in it?

PHIL MICKELSON: I'm not sure. I mean, I think that I won't have a good comment for you on the FedExCup for a couple years. I think that I've got to give it a fair chance to play out and see how the individual events go and see how the overall chase for the Cup goes. The first year we're going to need to do a few tweaks, you can tell, and I'm curious to see how next year's scheduling is going to be.

There's a lot of little areas in there that are critical I think in the first couple years on whether it makes it or not.

I guess he hasn't heard that the schedule is set for next year.

This is funny and it leads into the stuff Elling quotes above...

Q. At a normal TOUR event you three guys wouldn't play together. Would it be good to do this more often?

PHIL MICKELSON: Well, I think it would. I mean, I think it would. Certainly the last three years this random computer pairings has randomly had us on opposite tee times every day for three years (laughter).

Q. Funny how that works out.

PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, anyway, but I enjoy it. This was actually a really interesting day because I've been working with Butch Harmon, as you know, and in the past I haven't really played that well with Tiger per se. But he told me a couple things that he likes to do, and I kind of was watching for it, and I chuckled throughout the round when I'd pick up on it. And it was just -- I think that working with Butch has really helped me understand how to get my best golf when I play in the same group as Tiger, and I'm hoping I have a chance to do that on Monday.

Q. Anything you can tell us, the things you look for?

PHIL MICKELSON: Oh, no, I'm not about to tell you. I'm not even going to go there. But just a couple things that have been very interesting, and certainly the stories have been great (laughter). But just a few things to watch for. And it's really helped because I find myself chuckling at it now and played much more relaxed and had a good time today.

Q. Kind of demystified the guy for you?

PHIL MICKELSON: I wouldn't say that. That's all I'd really care to go for. I'm sharing with you a little piece and you keep asking for more.

Q. Are you hoping you guys get paired together again next week?

PHIL MICKELSON: Absolutely. I'd like to play well tomorrow and I'd like him to play well tomorrow, so hopefully we both have a chance on Monday and maybe get paired together. That would be fun.

"I don't have much good to say about 18"

View of No. 18's bunkering (click to enlarge)You throw a bunker in the center of the fairway and our boys can't deal with it! And people wonder why we get slaughtered in the Ryder Cup.

From Jim McCabe's Boston Globe round one notes column:

The pot bunker that's been added into the middle of the layup area at the par-5 18th offers a quaint look. The only thing is, does it come into play? "It definitely did for me," said Kuchar, who only drove it 240 yards and was left with about 290 yards. For sure, Kuchar had to consider the deep pot bunker on his layup, but he executed it perfectly. "I don't have much good to say about 18," he said. . . Tim Herron told Gil Hanse, who led the redesign efforts, that he didn't like the pot bunker. It was right where he would want to lay it up, Herron told Hanse, who nodded and replied that's why it was put there, to force guys to be precise with their second shots . . .

FYI, the sprinkler head on the back side of the bunker, closest to the green, is 95 to the center of the green. The nearest head short of the bunker is marked 117. Yes, they might have to hit an easy pitching wedge instead of a full SW.

Oh, and there's a good 15 paces of fairway on either side of this little bunker.

What a menace to society!

At least Rocco, who actually gives this stuff serious consideration, likes what he sees.

As for the overall changes to TPC Boston, Rocco Mediate is a big fan. "Fax did a great job," said Mediate, a reference to PGA Tour colleague Brad Faxon, who consulted with Hanse on the redesign. "Then again, I knew he would. He's old-school, so he wasn't going to force some new-fandangled goofy stuff."

I Wonder If...

...the brand platforming experts down in Ponte Vedra will note TPC Boston 4th hole's impact on day one Deutsche Bank play. Tiger Woods's double bogey 6 and Phil Mickelson's eagle 2 were run on sports highlight shows across the country.

I did notice that TGC/NBC showed it quite a bit more than any other front nine hole.

Here's what first round leader Camillo Villegas said about the hole:

Q. You talked about the new hole at No. 4. Can you give me your general impressions of that hole beyond the birdie?

CAMILO VILLEGAS: Tricky one. It's a tricky one. There's obviously -- the green just goes away. I think we should play that hole from the front tee all week, just because from the back tee it's a little too funky. You're going to be hitting maybe a 5-wood into a very narrow space, and it's going to be hard to even hold the green from 100 yards, and then if you hit driver and you get it up there where you have 50 yards, you can be in the middle of the fairway and I don't think you're going to be able to hold the green.

It's a tricky one. It's a good hole from the front, I believe, and I'm just trying to get it over that green somehow and just chip it back up. 

Here's what Tiger said about his surprising double...

Q. Can you talk about the 4th hole?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, the 4th hole I was telling Stevie, we've got to be committed to hitting the ball right of the green. I could hit the ball 50 yards right of the green. I was just trying to hit the ball right, right, right, and I just pulled it about five yards left of the flag. I was in the bunker, the only place you can't be.

Q. We couldn't see it from where we were standing. What were you trying to do with that shot?

TIGER WOODS: I was just trying to keep the ball on the green. Trying to keep it on the green.

Q. Runs away from you?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, big-time. I wasn't even trying to get cute with it. I said, well, if I make a mistake, make this mistake long, hit the ball over the green, chip back and try and make par that way. It just came out soft and buried under the lip.

 Q. Still in the sand?

TIGER WOODS: It was actually underneath the lip, so I couldn't get it out. 

And here's what Mike Weir said after his 65:

Q. So you liked everything?

MIKE WEIR: I liked everything, yeah (laughter).

I heard that No. 4, that that was kind of a narrow tee shot and a big -- I like the drivable par 4s because you miss it in the wrong spot with these firm, fast greens, and you're going to be struggling for par. Good risk-reward hole.

Q. As an example, and I could ask this of someone who had an eight-foot eagle putt, where could you miss it where you do get in some deep doo-doo?

MIKE WEIR: Left. I played with J.J. and he hit it left, and he had to hit it just right to get it barely on the green, and he hit a good shot and it rolled all the way down the hill and he had to make a really good up-and-down for par. That's a really good hole. If you miss it in the wrong spot, even though he was in the fairway you don't have much. Even if you miss it right, you can pitch it up the green. 

Greetings From Santa Monica

I’ve returned to the Home of the Homeless where, mercifully, I will not (A) won’t have to see another artificially faded Boston Red Sox hat for at least a week, and (B) listen to any more complaints about a centerline bunker.

However I will not ever forget a lovely evening spent listening to Jack Nicklaus tell stories while discussing the impressive new Martin Davis book chronicling his life in the same format as the classic Hogan Mystique and The Greatest of Them All. I did not take notes from Jack's remarkably honest chat, but I'm sure several of those who were scribbling away will recount some of the stories he told. Then again, some of the stories he shared were so revealing that maybe they should not be repeated. That, anyway, is my excuse for not doing a post about it.
 
As for the Deutsche Bank, it’s always good for to get out to a PGA Tour event and be reminded just how few players have anything interesting to say golf architecture, and more remarkably, how few care.  After Ogilvy/ie, Oberholser, Harrison Frazer (who knew?), Baddelay, Pernice, Browne, Elkington, Woods and a handful of others, most of the field isn't too interested in what went into the major overhaul of the TPC Boston or how it might make their golf more interesting. (Maybe they're just too distracted by the stress of the playoffs. That's it!)
 
You would think that with so much money at stake there would be a bit more driving range discussion about the many nuances injected into the course, but then again, there is a reason many of these fine young men are good golfers: they don’t think about golf architecture. Which, I suppose, is why I admire the talents of the aforementioned players just that much more. Being so thoughtful and trying to play great golf is not easy.
 
The writer's reactions should be interesting once play begins and they have a chance to see the design impacting their play. Many should be pleasantly surprised at how many odd little lies and unusual circumstances players will face due to the new bunkering or the new/old style mounding I wrote about earlier in the week or other significant adjustments to the green complexes.
 

No. 5 (click to enlarge)A few front nine design highlights to look for during NBC's telecasts...

- New 4th hole that should feature all sorts of birdies and bogies
- The revamped 5th that has become is (good) tough, beautiful par-4
- The new 6th tee out of the chute inspired by the late John Mineck
- The cross bunker on the par-5 7th that has induced entertaining whining because Heaven forbid if someone hits a poor drive they will have to lay up short of it and not have a very good view of the flagstick
- The depth perception altering bunkers at the par-4 9th where they constructed a brand new punchbowl green.

No. 18's centerline bunkering (click to enlarge)Highlights on the back:

- The par-4 15th rewards players flirting with the fairway bunkers a good view of the hole while blinding those playing safe right
- The new 16th is a dynamite short par-3 with a nasty penalty for bailing out right;
- The 17th should make for great theater with the spectators hovering over the new and deceptive little green
- And the 18th, with it’s bunker strewn landing areas that are causing so much entertaining player whining (those bunkers are where I want to hit it!).

The TPC Boston has the potential to become a lot more interesting if Hanse and Faxon are allowed to tinker over the coming years. Namely, take out the modern mounding and catch basins for starters. They need to immediately dynamite the 2nd, 8th, 12th, 13th, and 18th greens and match them in style and character with their newly constructed putting surfaces.
 
And most of all, it'll be fun to see fescue grasses age under the incredible eye of superintendent Tom Brodeur. Because do remember as you watch, that these are new bunkers and new grasses, even though much of it looks like it’s been there for 50 years.

Deutsche Bank Championship Photo Caption Help

Tootling around the back nine I spotted Sid Wilson shuttling around PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem. Oddly, the Commish never made it by the media center to chat with us scribblers, but he did kindly stop to answer a question from two spectators.

Hmmm...I wonder what were they asking and what was the Commish saying?

 

Update on 2007-08-30 18:32 by Geoff

I was wrong, the Commissioner did come by. A transcript may even follow. Here's proof...

 

The Tiger Ratings Effect

Doug Ferguson details the changes at TPC Boston and also dispels the myth of horses for playoff courses.

Accompanying his piece was an unbylined sidebar not posted on the USA Today's web site noting the 2.1 television rating for the Barclay's. It pointed out that the same week last year featured Tiger winning at Firestone, drawing a 6.6 rating.

Overheard

Arriving at the press center here on everyone's favorite--pro am day--a father and his son were asking one of the shirt-and-tie clad security folks what hole Tiger was on. Pulling out a pairing sheet he noted that Tiger teed off at 7 a.m., and they take about 10 minutes to play each hole, and....whoa. Try ten minutes to tee off on each hole there ace!

Weighing Options On TPC Boston's 4th

As expected, the Hanse-Faxon-Wagner redesign of TPC Boston's 4th hole is generating the most discussion, fueled in part by the possibility that officials may play the 356-yard tee for two rounds. Since that tee was never intended to be used for Deutsche Bank tournament play, it appears the Tour officials have decided to play it at around 300 yards all four days.

Until we see actual tournament play, we won't know which option players will most often chose to take. Just from observing some play on it, the hole looks like a Redan merged with elements of Riviera's 10th. It seems that a few will lay-up with a four or five iron, most will hit three wood at the front opening or into the front bunker, while some will take driver and err on the long side of the green.

A few images, starting with the view from the tee.

 

And the view from the left center of the fairway...

 

And the view from the right center, which is the ideal layup angle.

 

Finally, the rear view which flattens out some of the neat features over the green (fall off, bumps, etc...) that may make the player driving it long think twice. There are some small mounds meant to look like the old style New England bumps that are often found in this area when crews would bury large rocks instead of trying to cart them off property. 

"Apparently he's a celestial being that you can't touch. That's the way I see it."

Like the motorist who has to slow down for a car crash, I decided to sit in on Rory Sabbatini's meet and fight greet with the scribblers at Wednesday's Deutsche Bank press conference. And he didn't disappoint.

After a pretty rigid, uninspired effort (the course is "fair" and in "great shape"), a question about an incident last week got him going before this question delivered some good old fashioned tension in the room. 

Q. Outspokenness has been a double-edged sword for you, hasn't it?

RORY SABBATINI: No, actually the media has been the double-edged sword in the fact that I'll make a statement and they tend to paraphrase it to their liking and change it. You know, if anybody actually had bothered going back and reading transcripts from previous interviews, they would understand what I said instead of just going with the paraphrasing and following that lead.
You know, I'll say that the media has really put a very bitter taste in my mouth.

Q. Do you suppose that's because of the fact that you speak up or that you speak out on certain topics and no one else really takes a stance publicly on anything, so therefore -- because I haven't disagreed with anything you've said all year. I think you've been right.

RORY SABBATINI: Understand, I'm generalizing. I'm not saying every member of the media.

Q. I know, I don't feel that way.

RORY SABBATINI: The situation is I speak my mind. People always say they want something different; you get me, you get something different, and then they burn you for it. So what do you want, do you want different or do you want the usual fraternal player out here? You guys need to pick and choose what you want. If you want your generic standard answer, hey, I can spend all day long here and talk generic answer with you. But that's not the person I am.

You know, if the situation continues where people continue to burn me and manipulate what I say into what they want to turn it into, I'm just not going to bother talking. That's why, you guys have got to pick and choose what you want.

It's called copy and paste my friend.

Q. Fair enough.

RORY SABBATINI: You make me out to look like the bad guy when I've done nothing but ever actually, in a sense, praised Tiger because I've seen Tiger at his best. I'm the first one to admit, when Tiger is on his game, there's hardly -- I don't know if there is a person that plays on the PGA TOUR or anywhere in the world that can beat him, and I've said that repeatedly.

Q. When you said what you said, he had just blown a three-shot lead with six holes to go at Wachovia. I thought, you know what, he's making a valid point.

RORY SABBATINI: But the thing is people don't see that as a valid point. Apparently he's a celestial being that you can't touch. That's the way I see it.

Well that ought to put things to rest!

Q. If you were Gary Player, who would you pick to take on Tiger at the Presidents Cup in the singles?

RORY SABBATINI: Why not pick me?

Q. I think that's what he's asking you.

RORY SABBATINI: Why not pick me? I would pick myself.

 There's a newsflash.

A Few Quick Comments From TPC Boston

Thanks to favorable weather and the efforts of superintendent Tom Brodeur, the course is dry and firm with a promising weather forecast.

I toured the course today with Gil Hanse and Brad Faxon, so it was fun not only to hear their insights, but to hear player reactions which included several fine compliments along the lines of "I'm not sure how to play this hole" or "that bunker is right where I want to layup." Of course, the players don't realize they are paying the architects a compliment!

The new fourth is a real standout and I'll post more on that with some photos when I get the chance. Both 16 and 17 could be really fun on television, while the 18th is loaded with trouble but until the original green is blown up, I'm not sure how great it can be.

Most exciting of all is how aged the fescues already look. These images are of 5 month old bunkers. In a few years when the grasses break down and see a little wear and tear, they'll only take on more of an antique flavor.

 

Greetings From Boston

Posting will be sporadic as I've landed in Boston and will be at the TPC the next few days soaking up playoff fever. WiFi willing I'll be posting some photos and other observations from the media center.

To whet your appetite, TPC Boston's pro Tom Ellis talks about the course changes and other issues surrounding the Deutsche Bank event, while Dave Shedloski previews the week in his Tour Insider column.

And over at Golf Digest a FedEx Cup gang bang broke out while I was flying cross country. Ron Sirak is lukewarm, John Hawkins offers less than encouraging reviews for the Cup and Westchester in his Golf World game story, while Bill Fields is hopeful that the playoffs will get interesting. Of course, he also quotes several prominent players saying that playoffs may have been a poor choice of words. Huh?

No, we like the idea of a playoff. It just has to act like one!

Steve Stricker's Emotional Win Overshadowed By Steve Allan's Early FedEx Cup Exit

Just remember, they weren't going to eliminate anyone after this first event until Tom Pernice sounded off last year to John Hawkins (I'd link it, but I think it's a goner). The tension it added was palpable, well at least the few times I flipped over from the U.S. Amateur.

Meanwhile, Rich Beem avoided elimination with his fine play, earning a spot in Deutsche Bank and reportedly forcing tournament officials to order an emergency print run of tickets,

"Rory Sabbatini still found a way to tug on Superman’s cape"

That's Steve Elling writing about Rory Sabbatini's latest comments directed toward Tiger. Now, they say the definition of insane is when you keep doing the same thing ov...you go Rory! We love when Tiger wipes the floor with you!

His favorite foil, Tiger Woods, isn’t even in the field this week, yet cantankerous Rory Sabbatini still found a way to tug on Superman’s cape and court another mini-controversy.
 
Sabbatini shot an 8-under 63 Thursday to take the first-round lead at the inaugural FedEx Cup playoff event, The Barclays at Westchester Country Club, but he couldn’t resist taking the bait when the topic of Woods’ controversial absence was broached.
 
Sabbatini, whose opinionated honesty has repeatedly landed him in some sticky situations with regard to Woods this year, characterized the decision of the game’s top player to skip the first round of the mega-hyped playoff series as an embarrassing black eye.
 
“It's a disappointment because, obviously the whole purpose of this new system was to try and create an atmosphere that would draw everybody to the final four events of the year,” Sabbatini said. “Obviously, it's kind of backfired in the sense by Tiger skipping the first event.
 
“It leaves a lot of questions and a lot of interesting questions to what they need to do, to maybe change it so that you definitely have the incentive to play all four.”
 
Sabbatini, who won earlier this year at Colonial and stands sixth in FedEx Cup points entering the week, said those who skip stages should suffer a penalty of some sort and possibly should not receive the full $10 million bonus if they win the four-week race.
 
“There's many guys that play on tour that are out of shape and they play six, seven weeks in a row,” Sabbatini said. “It's just, I don't know if there's any solution to it, but there's got to be some kind of financial incentive.”

This ought to go over particularly well in Orlando this week. 

Woods’ claim that he was too tired to play after winning back-to-back weeks at the Bridgestone and PGA Championship rang hollow in Sabbatini’s ears. For Woods, the FedEx bonus money is probably no great windfall, odd as it might sound to civilians out there, he said.
 
“Oh, I definitely think it's something other than fatigue,” he said. “Well, I think maybe to some people $10 million doesn't seem like a whole lot of incentive but to others it would seem like a good incentive.”

 For more of Rory's thoughts, here is his press conference transcript.