I watch a lot of golf. There are about 20 players that I'm ok with winning during any given tournament. It's not like Baseball or Football when there's only 1 team I want to win (O's and Ravens, of course!) Golf is such a singular sport that over the course of any given weekend, the best player in the world can have a bad day and miss the cut and the rookie can have a good one and come out on top. And there are some phenomenal players in the field right now - ones that seem like wonderful people (which are always the ones that I root for) and can also play like hell (Kuchar, McIlroy, Furyk, Couples, McDowell, Spieth, Singh, Watson, Fowler - I could go on and on but the truth is as long as your name isn't Tiger Woods, I'll probably root for you.)
But that all changes when Phil's in the field. If there's even the slightest chance going into Sunday that he could win, my heart belongs to him. I will never not root for the man. There's just something about him. It could be the constant smile or the sparkle in his eye. Or the fact that he's able to laugh at himself when things aren't going his way. It may be that, even though he's one of the top 10 players in the world and he obviously takes all aspects of his game very, very seriously, he always looks like he's having a blast on the course. He's able to joke with his team mates and greets fans like their old friends. Maybe it's that he's a family man who has traveled to tournaments at the very last minute possible so he could see his daughter graduate or something equally important to the family. Or maybe it's because he's kept his caddy Bones by his side for almost his entire career, even when things aren't really going their way, when others have dropped their caddies any time the winds have shifted (*cough - Tiger- *cough).
Most likely, it's pretty much everything I listed above that makes him the consummate player and professional he is. He's easy-going, affable and always has fun. What's even more impossibly charming about the guy is that I've never heard a hard word spoken about him. There's no real temper there. Everyone who's ever spoken about him on tour, has the most glowing words possible to say about him. He's never been in the tabloids or lost his cool in the press. Even when, his wife, Amy got sick a few years ago, he kept the news private and never blamed their struggles for anything going on in his game.
He's an all around athlete, a gentleman golfer just like the greats (Arnie and Jack) and will forever be my favorite, which is why I just love US Open Weekends when he's near the top of the leaderboard.
Go Phil Go!
I've talked before about how I'm a bit of a fan of golf, and have also mentioned how much I happen to like Phil Mickelson. But I'm not sure I've ever said why. Aside from being a spectacular golfer who can thrill fans and break their hearts in a matter of one round and aside from never doing what you think he's going to do and always playing how he wants to, he is, by far, what seems to be the absolute nicest and most down to earth player on tour. He's an absolute gentleman who follows the unsaid rules of golf, as well as a devoted family man. Don't believe me? On Monday of this week (US Open week!) when he was supposed to be practicing in Merion PA, he flew home to California to watch his daughter speak at her 8th grade graduation then caught a flight back just in time for his Thursday tee time. Somehow I just don't see Tiger doing something like that. Kids could use more sports role models like Phil and less like Tiger. A few of the players on tour could even learn a thing or two about decorum from him, if they'd just pay attention.
So, the fact that he's in winning position (he's been here before, 5x with no win...) makes it even sweeter! I'm sure I speak for all of Lefty's many, many fans when I say, Go Phil, keep on doing what you're doing and bring this trophy home!
