THE MARVELOUS MICKELSON

I write this while flying to Dallas-Fort Worth, five days after Phil Mickelson won the PGA Championship. (No, that was not a typo. Phil Mickelson won the PGA Championship!) I’ve finally had a chance to come down a bit myself. I am absolutely exhausted, and it’s going to take a big effort to be ready to go tomorrow with our coverage of the Charles Schwab Championship. If I’m feeling like this, I can’t imagine what it was like for Phil to tee it up yesterday morning at Colonial in the first round!

I had a front-row seat to history as Phil became the oldest man to win a major championship on one of the most brutal golf courses in America. And he did it not by hitting his “bombs” off the tee (although he did hit the longest tee shot of the day at 16, a drive of over 360 yards) but by out-managing the field, taking what the golf course gave him, and having an answer for every puzzle the course presented … including when its character literally changed 180 degrees from Saturday to Sunday after the wind switched from east to west.

He also did it with what we like to call “flexible confidence” in our household, when his driving iron, the iron he used to hit the par 5 second hole in 2 shots on Saturday and then hole the putt for eagle, cracked on the driving range 15 minutes before his tee time, forcing him to substitute a 4 wood. Nothing rattled him. Nothing.

For those who were concerned that I was caught in the mayhem on the 18th fairway as the crowd rushed the players, I was indeed. But my fellow broadcaster for Sky Sports and former PGA Champion, Rich Beem, and two of my field colleagues at CBS Sports linked arms with me and plowed through. Yes, it was scary, especially for a claustrophobic reporter like me! But we made it.

I also believe that the rush of people at the final hole was a strong statement from folks just wanting to return to normalcy, to be celebrating sport, music, and culture. I hope the PGA of America embraces the rush on the final hole in a way that, in a controlled manner, becomes how they welcome their champion every year.

Bring the fans closer, but do it in a safe and managed manner. History deserves a big welcoming, and the fans are part of that.