My mans a moron!!!!

[TinCup]

In the pressure situation you have to go with what your comfortable with. Phil had practiced that hole a dozen times and probably hit driver every time. Switching on the final day to a 4-wood or something like that would have been a bad choice. Stick with what works. He played one bad hole and that cost him. I don't think he was stupid to hit driver just unfortunate that it didn't find the fairway. He could have easily hit it in the rough with his 4-wood also, its not like 4-wood for the pros equals dead center of the fairway.

[Diggitydog]

During the round Johnny "Rocket" Miller was talking about how Phil was trying to play a release fade throughout the entire day on Sunday.

Phil has said that he was trying to hit a comfortable fade on the 18th but it just didn't work out for him.

I say that Phil was trying to hit the comfortable fade all day but it just didn't work for him. The shot on 18 was basically what he had been trying to hit for ALL his drives on Sunday.

True that 4 wood doesn't mean dead center of the fairway, but on Sunday his driver should have been put up on the shelf before the tee ball on 18. I don't think anybody can argue that the odds are better that the 4 wood stays in play vs. the driver staying in play.

How many times have we seen Tiger hitting his 2 iron "stinger" late in the round of a tournament? I've seen it many times over the last couple years when he was rebuilding his swing. He plays that shot because it stays in play and gets him down the fairway a reasonable distance.

All of this adds up for me that Phil didn't manage his game properly on the 18th Hole Sunday. Earlier there was a post about how difficult it is to put a ball in play on the final hole of a Major. I agree, and to me that would be all the more reason to hit a higher percentage shot.

Phil was featured in Master's Issue of this years Golf Digest talking about percentages of putts made from different distances. He showed how the numbers don't lie and to hit your approach shots closer in order to save shots. In this case the numbers don't lie either. A 4 wood is a higher percentage shot under any circumstances. So what if he hit driver every time he played that hole. His driver was CRAP that day. He knew it, ignored it and paid for it just like we do when we don't take our medicine.

To top it all off, he tried another hero shot from the tent when he should have been taking his medicine there as well.

This is off topic but Phil is growing man boobs! Phils trainer needs to be fired and he needs a nutritionist. He's gonna look like Britney Spears soon. Ouch!

[jimmymo]

I actually heard an interview with one of the competitors at the US Open (he was a qualifier who missed the cut) -- he said he was walking the course on Sunday and said the wind was blowing about 10-12 mph in the players' faces on the 18th tee -- his thought was that PMick could have (at best) hit his 4-wood about 240 on the hole, assuming it hit the fairway. If he misses the fairway, he is looking at 215-225 yards from the rough. From his perspective, he thought that Driver wasn't as bad of a decision as the world is making it out to be -- interesting to hear that from a particpant who was actually there.

And by the way, Nicklaus and Watson can go fu*k themselves for criticizing a play they had no factual backgroud about -- I am sure the golf gods will make me pay for that one.

[Diggitydog]

And by the way, Nicklaus and Watson can go fu*k themselves for criticizing a play they had no factual backgroud about -- I am sure the golf gods will make me pay for that one.

What did they say? I didn't hear anything about what they said.

[Rafcin]

How can you say Driver off the tee was necessarily a bad play?...

maybe because he hit only 3 fairways whole day?

4i - 8i would get him on the green ( or 6i -6i as someone mention before ). Stupid bonehead play off the tee, even more stupid 2nd shot trying a miracle if bogey gets him into playoff. One can say - it's his game, his life - but he sure let a lot of fans down (not counting the dudes putting their weekly paycheck on him in Vegas). In my book it's official - Phil is a retard.

[jimmymo]

Diggitydog,

here is the article -- they were fishing in Canada when it went down and were relying on second hand info -- tough spot to be critical without any first hand info of the situation. Some quotes:

But both were soon expressing surprise at the shot selections after hearing what happened. Mickelson hit only two fairways all day but still pulled a driver on the 18th tee. He promptly sliced his ball off the roof of a hospitality tent and into the Open's notoriously tough rough. The two were even more amazed that Mickelson made matters worse by trying for the green on his second shot rather than getting the ball back on the fairway. Mickelson ended up hitting a tree and advancing the ball only 25 yards. "He had an easy option to get back into play? Really?" Watson asked. "Put the ball in play. Go play golf," Nicklaus added.

"You don't ever give up the end of a golf tournament," he said, adding he learned that lesson in 1963 when he picked the wrong club on the last two holes of an event he was leading and finished bogey-bogey and lost. I didn't like that feeling and said I'd never do that again, and I never did."

[jimmymo]

Rafkin, the fact is that PMick didn't think he could even hit a 4 iron in the fairway on 18 -- that is one of the big issues I have -- you know that hitting a good golf shot is all about confidence and commitment -- just a few holes prior, Phil hit what he thought was a "perfect" 4 iron that bounced off the fairway -- he stood on the tee assuming that he could not hit the fairway with any club in his bag -- if he is going to play from the rough, he best advance the ball as far off the tee as possible -- that is why driver wasn't a bad play.

And I don't want to hear anything about playing for a bogey on the tee box to get in to a playoff.

[Rafcin]

Rafkin, the fact is that PMick didn't think he could even hit a 4 iron in the fairway on 18 -- that is one of the big issues I have -- you know that hitting a good golf shot is all about confidence and commitment -- just a few holes prior, Phil hit what he thought was a "perfect" 4 iron that bounced off the fairway -- he stood on the tee assuming that he could not hit the fairway with any club in his bag -- if he is going to play from the rough, he best advance the ball as far off the tee as possible -- that is why driver wasn't a bad play.

Golf is game of probability calculation, teeing off with any other club in the bag had higher chance to result in a par, teeing off with a driver after having less than 10% FWY accuracy at this time - it's not only wrong, it's STUPID.

I didn't say "play for bogey", what I was trying to say - on this level there should be a difference in gameplan when you know for sure, that a bogey is good enough to win. I remember a tournament where I teed up with a 7 iron on a par 5, needed 2 more of them to get to the green, two-putt bogey give me a win - and I'm not a professional who lives on playing the game... Assuming Phil's 8i goes 160 he could hit 8i + 8i + 8i and be on the green. One-putt (should be with a 8i approach!) - great, two-putt - still win. If you say "he wasn't sure if he can hit the fairway with 8i" - then - he doesn't deserve to win US Open, plain and simple. No offense dude, but if you defending his decision making - you either just trying to stirr up the argument or you really haven't play much competition golf and just talking away without a reason. As Tom Watson summarized it - "you play to win, not to be a hero". Hero's die first.

[A.J.]

Yeah. You play to be a hero when you're behind coming into 18, not when you're up a stroke.

For all the debate and Phil hate, you still have to concede that he's among the absolute best players in the world. This season is not over and this is probably not the last time Phil will be headed into 18 at the Open in a position to win. I thought he'd reached a point where he had control of the mental aspect of the game but apparently he needs to harden some still. He's been winning majors because his mental game has increased and I think he'll continue to toughen. The reality is, Phil is hard to beat if isn't defeating himself.

[iacas]

From this article :



A. Champions Pavilion tent near where Mickelson's tee shot hit before bouncing back toward the tee.

B. Second shot, a 3-iron from 210 yards.

C. Direction he aimed trying to fade the ball around the trees.

D. Maple tree 70 yards away that ball hit, knocking it back to within 25 yards of its original position.

E. Third shot, 8-iron from 185 yards (shown above).

F. Bunker where third shot landed.

[Rafcin]

In the pressure situation you have to go with what your comfortable with. Phil had practiced that hole a dozen times and probably hit driver every time. Switching on the final day to a 4-wood or something like that would have been a bad choice. Stick with what works. He played one bad hole and that cost him. I don't think he was stupid to hit driver just unfortunate that it didn't find the fairway. He could have easily hit it in the rough with his 4-wood also, its not like 4-wood for the pros equals dead center of the fairway.

Your post message is very appropriate to your screen name

TinCup all the way. 4W sure doesn't equal a fairway hit, but I'm sure we could dig out some stats on Phil's game, that would show FWY hits with driver - 50%, 4-W - 90%. Additional factor is the round he was playing that day - he hit 2 ( TWO ) out of 14 fairways whole day. IMHO it's a misconception of "in the pressure situation going with what you practice the most" - the only sensible way of playing is going with the odds - how likely are you to pull off the shot you need. Any other play beats driver off the tee by at least 2:1, using irons it's probably more like 5:1. Only a moron would not take these odds.

[iacas]

Question is would Phil ever play this way?

Answer is because he's Phil.

[nurseduffer]

I could not believe it.. what an idiot...he was spraying his driver all over the place all day...he needs to par the last hole or bogey it for a playoff...and instead of poking a long iron or fairway wood down into the fairway...what does he do? He grabs the club that has been his biggest problem all day.
Ya know I bet on Olgivie in Reno...picked up $600 (that will never happen again...what luck). But I could not believe my eyes when I was watching Phil.
By the way Michael Cambell was the defending champ of the US Open. Phil is the PGA Champ last year

[thehillgolfer]

from the picture that iacas posted, i dont blame phil for trying to get on the green with his second shot. i'm not going to say anything about his first shot. but from that picture i think i wouldve gone for the green from where he was..i might have used a 5 wood, but still. and what people forget is phil got unlucky in the bunker. if he had gotten a reasonable lie, he gets up and down for the playoff. and thats what he was probably thinking on his second shot. get the ball up around the green, and its an easy bogey. that being said i was soooo glad phil lost. and geoff does deserve more credit because he a) chipped in for par on 71, b) hit a perfect drive on 18 and landed in a divot and c) got up and down for par from a very tough position.

[iacas]

from the picture that iacas posted, i dont blame phil for trying to get on the green with his second shot. i'm not going to say anything about his first shot. but from that picture i think i wouldve gone for the green from where he was..i might have used a 5 wood, but still. and what people forget is phil got unlucky in the bunker. if he had gotten a reasonable lie, he gets up and down for the playoff. and thats what he was probably thinking on his second shot. get the ball up around the green, and its an easy bogey. that being said i was soooo glad phil lost. and geoff does deserve more credit because he a) chipped in for par on 71, b) hit a perfect drive on 18 and landed in a divot and c) got up and down for par from a very tough position.

No guarantee Phil gets up and down. Monty couldn't even manage to two-putt from above that hole (on the same side as that bunker).

[thehillgolfer]

if he cant get up and down from around the green then why the heck are people saying he shouldve hit 8 iron 8 iron and then a wedge?

[iacas]

if he cant get up and down from around the green then why the heck are people saying he shouldve hit 8 iron 8 iron and then a wedge?

Because getting up and down from the middle of the fairway versus from a bunker way above the hole are two different things entirely.