Although this NY Times article reports that Phil Mickelson is still having trouble getting over his 18th hole meltdown at last week’s U.S. Open, this earlier Alan Snipnuck article gives us a taste of why Mickelson is currently one of the most popular U.S. sporting figures:
On Saturday, . . . evening [after a grueling 3rd round of the US Open], cordoned off behind the Winged Foot clubhouse, a jolly group of fans had gathered to get a glimpse of their heroes. Player after grumpy player stomped past, looking like they were trying to find a puppy to kick. None stopped to sign autographs.
At 7:30 p.m. Mickelson emerged behind the clubhouse, having endured 45 minutes of media obligations. It had already been a long, draining day. His caddie, Jim MacKay, was nursing sore feet, and had peeled off his shoes and socks to reveal shocking tan lines on his ankles. Mickelson’s wife Amy was slumped against a clubhouse railing, occasionally checking her watch. The Mickelson escape car, a gray SUV, was idling nearby. But drawn by the chanting of his name, Phil jogged over to his adoring public. Not content to just scribble autographs, he began working the crowd with a giddy shtick.
A French cameraman got in Mickelson’s face to record the scene, and hearing his accent, Phil said,”I love Paris. Tour d’Argent is my favorite restaurant in the world.” When a fan asked Phil if he would be playing a tournament in France anytime soon, he stopped signing long enough to jiggle his ample midsection for effect. “I don’t go to Paris to play golf,” Mickelson said. “I go to eat. Obviously.” The crowd spooned it up.
By this time, a pretty blonde had wiggled her way to the front row and was trying to engage Phil with some flirty banter. Mickelson finally asked her for her phone number . . . and then passed on the digits to a sportswriter hovering nearby, giving him a showy introduction. The scribe and the toothsome fan wound up making dinner plans on the spot, a hookup that brought smiles from the burly state troopers doing crowd control. . . . Phil signed three more, and then with a wave he jumped into his car and sped off. On the drive home he made a call to the writer on his cell phone, referring to himself as “pimp daddy” and asking for an update on the date.
On the other side of the popularity coin, this John Huggan/Scotsman article reports on why Colin Montgomerie remains one of the least popular professional golfers in the US:
There was one big difference between the other challengers and Monty, of course. While they managed to maintain the highest standard of etiquette during what turned out to be a traumatic afternoon for all concerned, the same cannot be said for our tartan hero.
Adding to his already lengthy list of crass and boorish behaviour over the years, Monty managed, in less than half an hour, to alienate the gallery around the 17th tee, make unwarranted physical contact with a New York state trooper and offend the United States Golf Association. This made three mean feats and no mean feat, if you know what I mean.
Witnessed first hand by two fellow Scots, Monty was disturbed by a child while over his drive on the 17th tee. After treating the youngster to one of his patented, prolonged glares, he missed the fairway, picked up his tee, walked a couple of paces, then – though he has since denied the following – viciously hurled the tee at his ‘tormentor.’ It missed, only just.
This provoked understandable outrage among many spectators. “That’s why you don’t get our support,” yelled more than one.
The altercation with the trooper occurred as the officer escorted the Mickelson family to the 18th green for a prize-giving that Monty decided he could happily skip – hence the USGA’s disappointment. At first, the incident was reported as a “shove” from Monty, later downgraded to a “collision”, presumably when his agents, International Management Group, sent their spin-doctors into action. Sadly, some journalists, no matter what Monty gets up to on the course, are willing to forego their professional credibility, take on the role of apologists and downplay any controversy. It is amazing what the promise of some freelance work or a future exclusive interview will do.
Anyway, at least the now five-time runner-up in major championships did deign to stop for a brief post-round press conference, during which he admitted to “messing up”. It’s only a pity he was talking about that shot to the last green, and not his disgraceful treatment of an innocent child.
For Monty, growing up has always been hard to do.