Tiger is not done by a long shot. He keeps hanging around top-5 with his C or D game, he'll win one of those majors where everybody else is backing down and he doesn't need to do something heroic but just have a few good bounces and sink a few putts here and there with his solid all around game. I also think the mental difference of major or not major for Tiger is greatly exaggerated. He won the Players which basically is the 5th major with the toughest field in golf on a course that historically has been a nightmare for him. That there tells me that he still has enough mental toughness to win the big ones, he just has to stay injury free and keep on fine tuning his newest swing to a point where he can again concentrate more on his short game. Congrats to Phil though. I don't particularly like him but it was kinda nice to see him not choke on the last hole for a change.
Maybe because he constantly does things for them that nobody else does, like signing autographs and constantly interacting throughout the course? http://www.golfchannel.com/news/joe-posnanski/to-love-and-loathe-phil-mickelson/ The last line is particularly true.
You're not buying that Phil Mickelson, of all people, cares about his family? For a few years now, I’ve had a little golf hobby: I’ve been trying to figure out why some people really despise Phil Mickelson. As you know, this week Phil Mickelson scrapped his U.S. Open practice so he could fly home to California and be in the audience when his oldest daughter Amanda graduated from the eighth grade. It fits his profile as a family guy. Mickelson wore a beeper at the 1999 U.S. Open – his wife Amy was due any day – and promised he would leave in the middle of the round if it went off. He took so much time off after Amanda was born that people jokingly asked which one of them had the baby. He once skipped the British Open to spend time with Amy when she was battling cancer. http://www.golfchannel.com/news/joe-posnanski/to-love-and-loathe-phil-mickelson/
I'm positive he cares about his family but I also know that everything he does is scripted so he can ring in those endorsements. If you ever meet someone who puts on a PGA event ask them about Phil
I've covered PGA events, including the one here in Houston, and asked plenty of organizers. Every single one of them loves the guy and says he is as genuine as they come. Can you offer up a specific example, or did the person you're referring to speak in vague generalities? What's really funny about the "everything is scripted" nonsense is that there's actually direct evidence to the opposite -- the vast majority of his charity work is kept under the radar so that people don't know about it. http://www.golfchannel.com/news/joe-posnanski/to-love-and-loathe-phil-mickelson/ http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/gola-mickelson-apologize-tax-rant-article-1.1245390
The sad thing about the Phil hate, to me, is our generation's desire to oversimplify things. Most of his "haters" decided they didn't like him a long time ago, for golf reasons. That's their prerogative, and while I have a different view, I can respect it. Some of the traditional golf crowd don't like how aggressively he often plays in a sport that traditionally is very conservative. The FIGJAM reference? While vague, anonymously sourced and extremely dated, it refers to his confidence on the course. Some simply hate Phil because they like Tiger, and he was always Tiger's biggest threat... really, the only player of Tiger's generation that was even remotely close in terms of physical talent. Others never liked Phil because of his attitude on the course -- the smiles (Dwight Howard, anyone?), interacting with the galleries, etc. -- they like their athletes to have the seething killer instinct of MJ/Tiger/Kobe. LeBron had to fight that stereotype the last few years, too. While I disagree with most of those points, I try not to respond because obviously everyone can like who they want. Different strokes, etc. The only thing that irks me is this apparent desire to lump everything together. You don't like Phil as a golfer? OK. But there's no need to take personal shots ("fake", "phony", etc.) at a guy, who by all indications, is one of the most generous and kind athletes on the planet and a genuinely great family man. Especially without any actual evidence. It's OK to cheer against Phil Mickelson and still think he's a good guy. The forced "Phil's a phony" narrative by those that don't like him as a golfer is pretty sad.
lol, phil mickelson hater, good grief. just go watch that sex addict tiger then. yeah, you make sense.
I'm not a Tiger fan. It's Sunday and i'm busy but Cat he makes sure everyone knows that he has tipped the clubhouse guys when a ball goes into he crowd he puts a 100 dollar bill in a glove. To me all of this is scripted to generate good will and there is nothing wrong with it I just think it's played up. Also it's great you covered golf I have been inside the ropes and caddied for a friend in a handful of tournaments back in the day and Phils act is neither popular or hated. I don't know him but he seems like a good family man I also think he cares more about those endorsements than his kids 8th grade speech
so tiger is more authentic because everybody knows he's moralless and gets endorses despite his poor character. but family man phil, everything he does on the course is phoney and meant to collect endorsements? well, I say one thing for it: when he's on the golf course he sure does a lot of winning, so i guess he's out of character in that aspect because everybody knows that phil is a talentless choker. tiger is the true greatness.
Phil is an all time great and should have more like 8 or 9 majors if he didn't play so reckless back in the day. I'm just turned off by the in your face family man stuff. I'm never gonna support Tiger either he is a pos
Unless you have first-hand knowledge -- none of which you acknowledged here -- you're going on vague gossip. You know how the easiest way to diffuse something positive? Claim the person "did it for publicity". It's tired and lazy, unless you have actual evidence. Most players don't know any more than the media do -- in many cases, they know less -- and simply want to rationalize why Phil does things that they don't. Think about the motivation of the person who tells you something. If Phil cared so much about "those endorsements", it wouldn't be like pulling teeth to find out what he does. That's the lengths he takes specifically to not publicize them. And you're choosing not to believe this over what, exactly, the word of a rival who probably isn't as generous? Sorry, unless you actually watched and can document when Mickelson supposedly told people about the $100 in a glove, you're in no position to know. P.S. Pretty hard to buy the "scripted" case when just this week, he spotted a little kid with a cast in the crowd and stopped mid-round to talk to him. By default, if an event is scripted, you have to be able to plan it out in advance. Maybe, just maybe, he's just actually a good guy who cares about giving back. http://msn.foxsports.com/golf/story...hares-a-moment-with-injured-9-year-old-071813
I'm guessing you think politicians have perfect families and are shocked everytime a scandal breaks out and you were like I just saw him holding his kids and visiting that hospital. I also just told you I have been inside the ropes and Vijay and Phil both had their friends and guys who didn't like their acts. I don't listen to what any media covering sports says because they are either jock sniffers or looking to create trouble to make a name for themselves. I would never write what im saying here because your right its not fact it's an educated opinion. I also was not running from an argument I said im busy and was responding earlier while I was taking a dump and reading clutchfans. Reading your words it sounds like you are a bit of a fanboy and that's fine I love the passion just don't give me the media bs
What's new about that? No one is going to have a 100% approval rate. Hell, there are some people that "disapproved" of Mother Teresa, when polled. But is that a reflection on Phil, or the player/person who disapproves? Unless you have specific evidence (a vague piece of gossip from someone who supposedly heard Phil tell their cousin's friend something 5 years ago doesn't count), it's probably the latter. As I said, it's a weak attempt to rationalize why they don't do those things themselves. There are two spots where your "politician" analogy falls short: 1.) Politicians inherently are campaigners. They all have to be re-elected and can be voted out of a job by the public at any point. That's very different from a professional athlete, especially in golf, where earnings are based on course productivity. Now, could you say he's campaigning for endorsements? I suppose, but if that's the case, Phil does a pretty ****ty job of it, given how many causes he specifically keeps below the radar (see above). Seems a lot more likely that he gives back because he simply thinks it's the right thing to do. 2.) Most politicians aren't corrupt. I'd wager that the majority, statistically speaking, are who they say they are. Are there exceptions to the rule? Sure, but that doesn't make it the norm. Plus, besides it being incorrect, that's an awfully pessimistic way to view the world -- to just assume that if someone seems like a genuinely good person, they're probably lying or at least greatly exaggerating. I think the Golf Channel article hit the nail on the head -- that view says more about us than it does about Phil. It's not about being a fan or not. It's separating the golfer from the person. With the latter, I have an issue with those who make character assassinations based on vague gossip and innuendo from anonymous sources, specifically anonymous sources with a clear motive to lie. When the actual specific evidence comes down strongly on one side, I think it's best to follow that. That's not me as a Phil fan, that's just me as a person.
Your point is fine, I just disagree and again I would not publish this as fact but my educated opinion is he puts a show on because it's good for business.
That's fine, I'm just pointing out that as the article said, that "educated opinion" sounds pretty shady when there are zero actual examples cited. Do you know how many players would love to knock Phil down a peg, both on the course and off? It's an incredibly competitive environment. Yet no one has ever come forth with a single specific incident (time, place, details) of one of these alleged "phony" moves. It's always the most inane, vague crap -- not only will no one even attach their name to it, but they won't even actually say their accusation! And it's pretty hard to disprove what isn't actually said, so the whole thing takes on a life of its own and the conspiracy nuts keep it going. You're free to believe it if you want, but your "educated opinion" sounds like most on this issue -- a vague front for your own personal agenda.
