Mickelson becoming more Tiger-like
Originally Published: July 12, 2004
By Bob Harig | Special to ESPN.com
TROON, Scotland -- Tiger Woods is still No. 1 in the world ranking, but Phil Mickelson is on top in the hearts and minds of most of those who follow golf. And while Mickelson has yet to supplant Woods in the statistical measure of the sport, he seems to have traded places with his long-time rival in so many other ways.
APPhil Mickelson has never finished in the top 10 at the British Open.
It was almost, well ... Tiger-like.
Woods, meanwhile, talks a good game, but the words ring hollow. Sort of, well ... Phil-like.
All eyes will again be on them this week at Royal Troon, where the 133rd Open Championship begins on Thursday.
The scrutiny with Woods continues, now that he has gone eight straight majors without a victory, a fact that will undoubtedly be mentioned a few times by the British tabloids.
Mickelson, meanwhile, is the subject of renewed focus at a championship where he has previously been an afterthought.
It is amazing, when you consider from where Mickelson came just two years ago, uttering words that convinced many he would never win a major championship.
"I won't ever change my style of play," Mickelson said at the 2002 Players Championship, just a few days after he foolishly tried to pull off a miracle shot on the back nine at the Bay Hill Invitational, killing his chances at victory.
"I get criticized for it, but the fact is I play my best when I play aggressive, when I attack, when I create shots. That's what I enjoy about the game, that challenge. And if I were to change my style of play, I won't perform at the same level, nor would I enjoy the game as much."
At the time, Mickelson had 20 career PGA Tour titles, but no majors and a slew of high finishes. Then there was Woods, who had six majors and 30 PGA Tour wins. Mickelson was ranked second in the world, but the distance behind Woods was measured in miles, endless miles.
After a horrendous 2003 season (one that included personal trauma due to a difficult pregnancy for his wife, Amy), Mickelson slipped to 16th in the world ranking and was almost an afterthought. Some wondered if he'd win again, let alone win a major championship. But it was obvious he had gone to work in the offseason, on both his game and his strategy.
He won the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, his first tournament, playing with caution rather than carelessness. He went to Augusta National for two days before Masters week, and studied ways to save shots. Instead of firing at pins, Mickelson negotiated his way around the storied course. Then, when he had to, he birdied five of the last seven holes in one of the most exciting Masters ever, edging Ernie Els by a stroke for his first major championship.
Mickelson, 33, employed a similar strategy last month at Shinnecock Hills and was here at Troon last week before the Scottish Open, where he missed the cut.
"Having such a tough last year certainly forced me to re-evaluate lots of things," he said. "There's a very good chance that having a year as rough as last year has forced me to sit down, re-evaluate things and change things. And had I gone along having so many close opportunities and not capitalized, I may have continued without making the necessary changes."
Woods has been trying to make changes in his swing, but remains coy about what he is trying to accomplish.
At this point two years ago, Woods, 28, had won seven of the previous 11 major championships. He had eight total at age 26 -- Jack Nicklaus didn't get his eighth until he was 30.
The talk of golf heading into the 2002 British Open at Muirfield was Woods' chances of capturing the Grand Slam. And he was in perfect position to do so, two strokes out of the lead heading into the third round, when a rare case of bad luck occurred: Woods teed off in the middle of a freezing rain storm. The weather was so bad that the wind chill dropped to 39 degrees. Woods played in it for two hours, and emerged with an 81, his Grand Slam dreams gone.
Three weeks later, Woods bounced back and finished a shot behind Rich Beem at the PGA Championship.
But he's only contended in one major since, last year's British Open at Royal St. George's, where he bogeyed two of the last four holes to finish two strokes behind Ben Curtis. For the first time in five years, he did not win the PGA Tour money title. This year, he's had disappointing finishes at both The Masters and U.S. Open. Since winning the U.S. Open two years ago, Woods has posted his worst finish as a pro in each of the four major championships.
And every one of Woods' statistical categories is off the pace that has helped him to 40 PGA Tour titles. He has just one win, a victory at the WGC-Match Play Championship. He has not won a stroke-play event since September, and has seen his invincibility shattered. Case in point: Twice, during consecutive events in May, Woods held the 36-hole lead, but failed to win. He had won 18 in a row before that when in such a position.
Woods' standard response: "I'm close." After shooting 73 during the third round of the U.S. Open, a score that left him nine strokes behind eventual winner Retief Goosen, Woods said: "I tell you what, I'm hitting it well."
Unlike any other player, Woods is able to make something out of nothing. He still has not missed a cut in more than six years. In all but four tournaments this year he has finished in the top 10. But it's not the same Tiger.
Like Mickelson before him, Woods appears to be in denial.
"When Tiger Woods in the past would have a bad round -- like he's had numerous times this year ball-striking wise -- he would tell you, 'I played really poorly. My short game saved me. I'm going to the range and figure it out.' We don't hear that anymore," said his former coach Butch Harmon, who created a stir in the Woods camp with such frank talk.
This week's British Open will either provide answers, or create more questions. Mickelson has never finished in the top 10 at the British Open, the one major where he has failed to contend. He got to Troon early after missing the cut at the Scottish Open, hoping to gain more knowledge.
Woods took his customary week off before the British, having tied for seventh at the Western Open, where he nearly missed the cut, shot 65 in the third round to get into contention, then couldn't make a move with a Sunday 71. Five players, including Mickelson, have won more tournaments this year than Woods.
He keeps saying he's close, but now, if you didn't know their voices, you'd think it was the old Mickelson talking, not Woods.
Bob Harig covers golf for the St. Petersburg Times, and is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at harig@sptimes.com.
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