Mickelson continues to impress me.......

[iacas]

Phil was gracious in the interview afterwards I thought, esp. when asked about the #1 position he currently holds.

What #1 spot? In the world rankings, no. The only one with a shot at that this week was Sergio and he needed to win and have Tiger finish 27th or worse. Tiger finished T9.

Source: AP article Mickelson won for the second time in four weeks and moved to No. 2 in the world ranking, as close to Tiger Woods as he has ever been. Depending on how Woods fares at Bay Hill, Mickelson might have a chance to go to No. 1 when he plays again.

Phil at Bay Hill? Unlikely to edge Tiger.

[Ryanrocksfender]

Wait for his choke on Sunday!!!

=] no choke for good oll phill

[BASHERBAKER69]

...so how far is Phil now behind Tiger in the world rankings?

[beachbreak]

I love Johnny Miller. I laughed out loud when Watney left that shot in the bunker and Johnny said something like........you know you're in trouble when you look up and don't see a ball.

[Chas]

What #1 spot? In the world rankings, no. The only one with a shot at that this week was Sergio and he needed to win and have Tiger finish 27th or worse. Tiger finished T9.

Aha, so clearly I misheard what the commentators had said about the rankings before they asked Phil how he felt about his new status - please disregard my earlier comment. Actually I was a bit surprised when I thought I'd heard that but don't really follow the rankings closely so didn't check on it. When I told my wife about Phil's new "#1" ranking (according to what I'd just heard), she was very skeptical - and rightly so it turns out. I stand corrected, and chalk one up to the better half ....

I'm very impressed with Watney's mental game, his play here confirms the impression one got at the Buick. That guy keeps up the pressure even when disappointing himself as he did with the bogey on the par 5 after having a 4 iron approach shot from the fairway. What an opportunity and what a let-down! After the two drives on that hole I was starting to wonder if things were going south for the Ranchero ...... and then he goes and sets up for that reverse-iron bushbusting palmsplitting attempt. It felt like watching show jumping - not good for the nerves at times but you can't take your eyes off the drama. Beachbreak: that comment of Miller's after Watney's bungled bunker shot made me laugh out loud as well. So true of course, and the replay showed it very nicely. Miller did another excellent job IMO; when he's rather critical of what he sees technically it's generally pretty deserved. I would guess that the pros consider him to be rather fair, generous at times even. I missed the whole shouting spectator business.

[flap]

That guy that yelled for Phills ball to go into the water on #18 was way out of line but unless you throw him out of the grounds you can not stop people from being stupid.It is really no different than photograhers clicking when Tiger swings it goes with the territory.

[apex53]

A nice win today by Phil... Good tv, right down to the wire... I'm not a big fan of Phil, but I respect the guy's game and talent... You can't win 36 times on tour with 3 majors being a chimp... His disregard of Bones' advice and going ahead and playing the shot right handed from the bushes made me laugh... He obviously has his mind made up and it was damn the torpedoes... He is exciting to watch, the 2004 Masters was an all-time great finish, and his flameout in 2006 at Winged Foot was entertaining... My question is where is he buying his golf clothes? IMO those shirts are terrible... Looks like he's wearing an extra medium when he needs an extra large... Where were his three daughters today? They usually run out onto the green after he wins... Would be great to see a Tiger and Phil duel at The Masters...

[mirv]

if phil keeps playing like he has been the past few weeks, he may finally live up to the "phil vs tiger" rivalry that everyone's been talking about/waiting on for the past several years.

[flap]

No 3 daughters 2 girls one son named evan.

[Divot Tool]

Congratulations to Phil. Wow, impressive indeed. Clearly the man has game. He is swinging the club with confidence and the results showed. Hats off to Nick Watney who, when his swing wasn't quite all there, his short game (recovery shots) were nothing short of amazing.

. . .He's probably got more raw talent than anyone on Tour (even Tiger). . .

It's arguable. I can only wish there was some way of measuring "raw talent" as it is purely subjective, especially when you consider the fact that they are #1 and #2 in the world rankings. It doesn't make it any easier. When Butch Harmon was asked who had a better short game, during an interview on NBC, to paraphrase, Harmon said that Phil Mickelson had a broader "array" of shots than Tiger Woods. It seemed like a very respectable response considering that he had instructed both at one point in time. I don't believe Harmon was alluding to the fact that Phil was necessarily more talented. The man [Phil] has a sick short game and his ironplay when dialed in is exceptional. What defines Phil is his aggressive approach to the game. He attempts different shots. . . I admire that. However, that is his downfall at times (recall the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines where he had that disaster on Hole 13, repeatedly hitting 3 lob wedges only to have each run back down). The truth is, you simply don't see Tiger doing this. Back to the "raw talent" debate. Let's say I agree with you (you may very well be right). Mickelson proved this past week that when he's on, he is as dominant as Tiger. In the past, he's proven that he can beat Tiger under pressure (recall 2007 Deutsche Bank...what a shootout!) Having said that, "pound for pound" I still do not believe that he is in the same class as Tiger.

[Chas]

My question is where is he buying his golf clothes? IMO those shirts are terrible... Looks like he's wearing an extra medium when he needs an extra large... Where were his three daughters today? They usually run out onto the green after he wins... Would be great to see a Tiger and Phil duel at The Masters...

1) Phil may have a slight self-image issue, i.e. he thinks he's a tad slimmer and trimmer than he actually is. Either that, or he's willing to take the aesthetic heat in hopes that it'll give him the necessary incentive to lose more weight.

I agree, IMO he needs to go with the Extra Large for a while yet. 2) According to another poster on another thread, the kids/wife-on-the-green thing was really, really irritating. Looks like the Ranchero can't win either way ...... Yes, that right-hander from behind the bush/palms was classic Mickelson, was it not? I mean, what can you say about a shot like that ......* ? And what must his caddy have been thinking? (wince) Nice respectful post on the guy btw. I share the issues many have with Phil, he drives me nuts sometimes, but a) he has an extraordinary combination of skills in the long and short games, which Tiger fully acknowledges; b) you can't keep your eyes off the incipient train wreck aspect of his game; and c) he does know when to use discretion some of the time (e.g. 2nd shot on the 18th) - just not ALL the time. You da man Phil ......... *As someone once said, in an altogether different context: "Immer in meinem leben hab ich va banque gespielt". Of course it didn't work out so well for that guy in the end, but it did get him a long way.

[ProfessorGAC]

Perhaps the reason Phil comes off as a know-it-all is because he's a very intelligent person. His hobbies are the stock markets/finance and he has a penchant for science. "Most" guys on tour would prefer to talk about the Celtics and Knicks, etc. That might be the case for the statements that he is hard to talk to and doesn't have a lot of "friends" out there. It's hard to communicate with someone who has interests that you can't even pronounce the name of.

If you say so. Apparently you don't know any stockbrokers. Looking at stocks isn't the mark of genius. If you knew many, you'd know that to be the truth.

And, since the vibrations of the club would occur after impact, the difference in vibration on different kinds of turf is apropos of nothing. Knowing that doesn't make one smart. It means that you don't really understand science.

[flopdarock]

1) Phil may have a slight self-image issue, i.e. he thinks he's a tad slimmer and trimmer than he actually is. Either that, or he's willing to take the aesthetic heat in hopes that it'll give him the necessary incentive to lose more weight.

maybe he's raiding camilo's locker before rounds

[roverT7]

If you say so. Apparently you don't know any stockbrokers. Looking at stocks isn't the mark of genius. If you knew many, you'd know that to be the truth.

The difference would be "apropos" of something, regardless of when impact occurs. Something must explain the difference in rate of vibration, right? Furthermore, as the original poster did not relate shaft vibration to ball flight, I'm not certain your use of apropos is grammatically correct. "Immaterial" might have been a better choice of words. Regardless, I am certain your post was incredibly condescending.

[flap]

Besides Phill being a Pysch major his wife has a science degree also some kind of biology degree if I remember from his book.So yes maybe the guy does talk about some things that seem goofy but he also loves his sports esp.football.

[flap]

Bye the Bye if you watched his interview on NBC after the tourney he went out of his way to mention how sorry that he could not be in new york the next morning to present an award which is afree trip to his Mobil oil /Mickelson science academy for a New York city school teacher which I think is a pretty cool charity to have started.I did not catch Fox news the next morning to see if he came on VIA phone or how he presented the award.Phill has his own jet which he loves to fly and if he was not able to fly cause of his sickness then he must have been pretty damn sick.IMO

[Chas]

And, since the vibrations of the club would occur after impact, the difference in vibration on different kinds of turf is apropos of nothing. Knowing that doesn't make one smart. It means that you don't really understand science.

hmmmm ..... your statement, as it stands, begs so many questions that one doesn't know where to begin. Without having completed any sort of a syllogism, your post left me profoundly perplexed and out of tune .....

. The golf ball leaves the face of the golf club a period of time after the instant of "impact" (don't ask me exactly how long, but lots of things are occuring in the interim including some serious golf ball distortion), which would raise many possibilities, including a role for shaft vibration and other shaft properties in the precise behavior of the ball post-release. To Tiger and Phil, these recondite matters may have great significance. To me, I'm happy if I hear a crisp sound and can actually observe the ball in the air and heading in roughly the right direction. Sadly, sometimes I feel more like Watney must have felt after his third short yesterday (from the bunker) on the par 5 12th poor fellow ..... I am reminded of the Ph.D. research of a chap I once knew well, who labored in an old pile over the water on the vibration and twisting of bendy curtain rods (essentially) after they were flexed. That is how he used to describe his work over a pint (or three), and it yielded him the desired academic result as well as a plum spot on this side of the pond. The vibration of such rods, not so dissimilar to golf shafts (very, very flexible ones ..... ), had application in controlled fusion reactions (being attempted at a nearby nuclear reactor) as well as in a host of other more mundane places, according to this fellow. My point: never underestimate the importance of vibrations, likely even in the great and mysterious sport of goff. Well said RoverT7. GMAB. Flap: indeed. And the most important thing about it was that Phil really appeared to mean what he was saying, i.e. the regret seemed to be genuine. He wasn't just saying it to show that he was a good guy - besides, we know that already. Call me a sucker.

[photoballmarker]

if phil keeps playing like he has been the past few weeks, he may finally live up to the "phil vs tiger" rivalry that everyone's been talking about/waiting on for the past several years.

I've said Phil has not lived up to his part of the Tiger vs Phil matchup. But, I got to admit at this point in time and for this year it looks like he is ready. Game on for the Masters.

Now, do they both show up? If so, it will be a great tournament.