Tiger And Phil Issue Their First Impressions Of Shinnecock Hills 2018

Following their reconnaissance trips to Shinnecock Hills, Tiger Woods prefaced his assessment by noting the rainy weather and extreme length of the par-70 course. But as Brentley Romine reports for Golfweek, Phil Mickelson offered a rave review of the course where he finished second in 2004.

Mickelson spent Tuesday at Shinnecock. He went around with assistant pro Matt Cahill and raved at the changes, particularly the widened fairways and shaved run-off areas around the greens.

“Phenomenal,” Mickelson said. “It’s really well done. They renovated it a little bit and some of the fairways are a little bit wider, certainly the rough is as penalizing or more so than I’ve seen it, but the fairways are fair and the greens are as healthy as I’ve seen them.”

Puffy Shirt Return: Phil Signs With Mizzen+Main To Allow "Move From The Board Room To The Golf Course"

The Forecaddie on Thursday-and-beyond's return of...the shirt. 

The full, and frankly spectacular, press release here:

Mizzen+Main Announces Partnership with American Golfer Phil Mickelson

Dallas, Texas, May 10, 2018: Transformative menswear brand Mizzen+Main announces a new partnership with one of the most renowned golfers and professional athletes of all time, Phil Mickelson. The five-time major champion has signed on as an official Brand Ambassador of the hyper growth, performance menswear line that has transformed an industry with its “best damn dress shirt.”

The long-term partnership makes Mickelson an equity holder in the company, joining Houston’s JJ Watt as a major partner in Mizzen+Main.

“I was waiting to find the perfect apparel partner that allowed me to move from the board room to the golf course. Mizzen+Main’s performance dress shirts enable me to do that. A big part of why I’m so thrilled to partner with them is I know all my endorsement partners and the thousands of professionals that work at those companies will love this shirt for their day to day too. These dress shirts not only look incredible but are so comfortable and versatile I can actually play golf in them. It’s remarkable to have a dress shirt I can wear from a meeting to the course. The game has changed,” remarked Mickelson.

Mickelson made waves in the sports world after wearing Mizzen+Main in a practice round with Tiger Woods at Augusta in April this year. His record as one of the best golfers of all time who represents several of the world’s greatest companies, along with being a maverick who charts his own path makes him a perfect fit for the brand.

“I started Mizzen+Main six years ago to make a dress shirt that performed at the same level as athletic apparel. Partnering with Phil is an extraordinary opportunity as one of the most renowned global athletes puts our product to the test on the course in a fun and unique way. We’re thrilled to have Lefty lead the way in the years ahead,” said Mizzen+Main Founder and CEO Kevin Lavelle.

As Brand Ambassador, Mickelson will wear Mizzen+Main’s performance fabric dress shirts regularly in tournament play, kicking off this week at the Players Championship®.

Rare Vintage Tiger-Phil Pairing Nears, And The Talk Leading Up To It Is Just As Fun

Thanks to the PGA Tour making the rare move to pair Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, accompanied by the equally rare sight of Phil Mickelson making his way into an interview room, we have some fun stories and revelations to amp up excitement for Thursday's 1:52 pm ET grouping with Rickie Fowler. 

Tiger remains upbeat and seems even more unphased by any burden to win, which I noted in this Golfweek assessment that also includes a few other fun comments from Woods' press session.

Maybe most surprising of all was Tiger's revelation that Phil offered short game help in 2015 during the chip-yip phase.

Shoot, at this pace we'll soon find out Tiger spent days Googling holistic arthritis remedies for Mickelson and that Phil offered to visit Orlando to help find Tiger's Escalade the right auto repair shop. After that, it could be the ultimate sign of a bond: sharing jet rides to tournaments. Sky's the limit!

ESPN.com's Bob Harig focuses on Phil's assertion that Tiger's peak will never be repeated by any golfer ever, and reviews the head-to-head match up, which this time around lacks some of the creative tension of past pairings.

In all, they have played in the same group just 35 times, with Woods holding a slight edge in their round-by-round scores at 16-15-4. Woods' scoring average is also slightly better, 69.60 to 69.91.

Woods won five of the tournaments in which they were grouped at some point, including the 2006 PGA Championship and the 2008 U.S. Open. Mickelson won three.

Brian Wacker notes at Golf World that the harmony is all the more touching giving where these two have been at times, though this is also hardly Ali-Frazier kissing and making up, either.

Convicted Inside-Trader Billy Walters Is Not Pleased With Phil Mickelson

As he sits in a Florida minimum-security prison, sports gambler and businessman Billy Walters awaits an appeals court ruling and stews about the role Phil Mickelson played in his conviction, reports ESPN.com's Mike Fish.

Over several interviews recounted in a compelling piece by Fish, Walters is mostly still unhappy with his former golf buddy Mickelson.

"Here is a guy that all he had to do was come forward and tell the truth," Walters said in October, as he leaned forward in a chair behind his nearly 10-foot-wide office desk, its marble top home to three computer monitors. "That was all he had to do. The guy wouldn't do that because he was concerned about his image. He was concerned about his endorsements.

"My God, in the meantime a man's life is on the line. He's going to go to prison. And you got prosecutors up there during the entire trial, the entire month -- all they talked about over and over was me giving my friends insider information. That is all they talked about. And they knew those jurors were all up on the internet reading that stuff about Phil [profiting from the Dean Foods stock purchase]."

Video: Dan Patrick Talks Technology With Phil Mickelson

Good chat between Dan Patrick and Phil Mickelson on the distance debate.

Alternate Shot: Will Mickelson Get 50 Wins?

Jaime Diaz and I discuss whether Phil Mickelson will win fifty tour events following his 43rd title at the WGC Mexico City.  Jaime says no, I saw Phil has a chance to go the Sam Snead route and compete into his fifties thanks to his flexibility, power, confidence and apparent enjoyment playing the game. Plus, he's a better putter and has a private jet.

Phil! WGC Mexico City Ratings Up 21%

A stacked leaderboard, dreadful weather in most parts of the U.S. and the Phil Mickelson factor helped the 2018 WGC Mexico City climb 21% Sunday. 

VIEWERSHIP: Final RD coverage of the @WGCMexico on @NBCSports earned a 2.89 Overnight rating (2-630p ET), +21% vs 2017. Coverage peaked (4.51) from 6-6:30p ET during the playoff won by Phil Mickelson over Justin Thomas. pic.twitter.com/y11cN3gZj4

— Golf Channel PR (@GolfChannelPR) March 5, 2018

Roundup: Mickelson Finally Returns To The Winner Circle!

The already compelling Masters picture got more interesting with Phil Mickelson breaking a stubborn winless drought at the WGC Mexico City.

According to Doug Ferguson's game story, Phil Mickelson's win over Justin Thomas in sudden death means more to Phil than we'll ever know. 

Phil feels he has a little less work to do to make the Ryder Cup team, writes Rex Hoggard.

After win No. 43, the 47-year-old is still hoping to get to 50 PGA Tour wins, writes Brentley Romine.

Nick Menta with some of the key social and video highlights from a topsy-turvy final round.

The winner's bag, which included a new fairway wood at Mexico City.

For a roundup of all the week's action, check out the March 5 Golfweek digital edition.

SUBSCRIBE to PGA TOUR now: http://pgat.us/vBxcZSh In the final round of the 2018 World Golf Championships - Mexico Championship 8, players kept things exciting as Phil Mickelson marched to the top of the leaderboard for the win. The WGC - Mexico Championship returns to Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico City, Mexico.

Thomas’s approach shot hole-out at 18: 

SUBSCRIBE to PGA TOUR now: http://pgat.us/vBxcZSh In the final round of the 2018 World Golf Championships - Mexico Championship 2018, Justin Thomas holes a 119-yard approach shot for eagle on the par-4 18th hole. The WGC - Mexico Championship returns to Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico City, Mexico.

Who is Shubhankar Sharma? Phil Thought He Was Media!

The WGC Mexico City final round is the rare limited field event with a deep leaderboard and a wide range of final round storylines. While the list of top players two back of 21-year-old Shubhankar Sharma would be enough to keep things fun, many more lurk should the leader falter.

As for Sharma, Rex Hoggard writes that most of his peers know little about the two-time European Tour winner and current Race To Dubai leader, who holds a two-stroke lead.

Who is Shubhankar Sharma?

For those who will find themselves asking the question on Sunday, take heart that the soft-spoken player from India is obscure even among the game’s play-for-pay set.

“I don't know, other than he's young. He's like 21, right?" laughed 24-year-old Justin Thomas. "Man, kids,” 

Even those who may have crossed paths with Sharma on the European Tour, which he qualified for with his victory in December at the Joburg Open, had only a passing knowledge.

Sharma only introduced himself to one player this week: Phil Mickelson. And Lefty tried to shoo the non-scribbler away.  Hoggard writes in a GolfChannel.com item devoted to this gem:

Me and my caddie went up to [Mickelson]. He thought we were media and he said, ‘Not right now, after the round,’” Sharma laughed. “Then he just realized and said, ‘So sorry, I thought you were media.’ He said ‘hi.’ I said ‘hi.’ Then he made a few putts and he came back to me and said, ‘Have a good day.’ It was nice.”

Poor Phil, it's been so long since a media member even wanted to chat that he forgot what we look like!

Earlier in the week, AP's Doug Ferguson profiled Sharma and how he found the game through his families ties to Anirban Lahiri.

Sharma and Anirban Lahiri -- the player he replaced as India's No. 1 -- are both Army brats. Retired Col. Mohan Sharma was stationed at the same post as Lahiri's father, a gynecologist, when Sharma's younger sister was born.

Final round tee times and TV Times courtesy of Golfweek.

Round three highlights from PGA Tour Entertainment:

Phil's 213th In Driving Accuracy, Up In Distance And Bullish On His Prospects In 2018

It's always fun when Phil Mickelson talks these days--an increasingly rare opportunity for the press--so enjoy Dave Shedloski's GolfDigest.com item on Lefty's improved distance but less-than-appealing driving accuracy numbers (213th). Because you know there's a theory behind it all!

But it’s a change you can’t see. No, he is still swashbuckling Phil. But perhaps the new iteration won’t have to be so gosh-darn entertaining. Which would make him eminently more competitive.

An offseason leg-strengthening program might soon pay dividends. Always enamored with the long ball, Mickelson is averaging 305 yards off the tee, 13 yards longer than his driving average in 2017. He ranks 39th on tour in that category. His clubhead speed, he said, has increased four miles per hour, and his ball speed is up significantly, too.

“My legs were always very passive in my swing, and now I’m able to get more of a whip effect and push off the ground,” he explained. “It’s increased the speed right away. From a biomechanical standpoint, I’ve always had plenty of upper body speed, including the hands, but I was weak using my legs for power.”

And why is this cause for encouragement?

“The two areas that I’ve been weak in over the last five years and have held me back are driving and short putts, and I believe they are both becoming strengths,” he said. “If that’s the case, then I’m going to have a good year. I believe what I’m doing is going to make a huge difference.”

Mickelson opened with a 69 at Spyglass Hill.

Video: Mickelson Says "Let's Take A Moment To Admire That I Just Hit A Fairway"

Fun stuff in the final round at Safeway Open, where Mickelson hit 15 of 56 fairways, though as he noted post-round as captured by PGATour.com's Mike McAllister, some are as narrow as 13 yards in spots.

Despite only hitting his 15th fairway of the entire tournament, Phil’s got jokes... 😂😂😂

A post shared by PGA TOUR (@pgatour) on Oct 8, 2017 at 4:54pm PDT

Task For Bros: Tiger And Phil Show They're Friends, But Will They Hang Around When The Other Wins (Again)?

Of course not, but it's still nice to see these two rivals and Task Force partners sharing in the celebratory mood and no doubt thanking their bud Tom Watson for helping bring everyone closer together. Next thing you know they'll be hanging out by the 18th green the next time one of them wins a golf tournament.

This big hug followed Team USA's 2017 Presidents Cup win.

After play, the two insisted it's the media's fault for not seeing what friends they are, reports Will Gray for GolfChannel.com. Tiger:

“I think the press has made it out to be more than what it has been. We’ve been friends for a very long time,” Woods said. “We’ve had some tough moments where we’ve lost some cups, and also the flip side is we’ve had some great success. Hopefully, going forward, we can continue doing it.”

Video: Day & Mickelson On Dan Patrick, Things Get (Fun) Feisty!

There is some fun stuff in this 14 minute exchange, particularly between Phil Mickelson and Dan Patrick starting around the 3:30 mark. It's all in good fun!

Patrick also asks some good questions about match play and the Presidents Cup.

Mickelson, by the way, has resigned with Callaway for the rest of his competitive life.

Birkdale: Phil Going Driverless, For Now

From what I've seen of the course, I'm not surprised by this move reported on by GolfChannel.com's Rex Hoggard.

Mickelson arrived early on Tuesday to tinker with a modified 3-iron, a Callaway Epic model, that has been bent to 16 degrees, which is closer to a 2-iron loft.

He also had a 3-iron in the bag with standard loft as well as his normal 3-wood during his practice round with Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.

Things may change for many players should the winds get going and tomorrow's forecasted rain slow the course down, but even then it's just hard to imagine with the rough and lack of width that most of today's players need their driver at Royal Birkdale.

He spoke to Golf Channel: