Phil Mickelson in 2010

[GaijinGolfer]

IMO, lefty is no threat to Tiger.

[Leftygolfer]

If Phil plays like he did the last two times we seen him play he has a shot. The difference between the two isn't that much right now. If tiger gets a bit cold (for tiger) and Phil has his best year of all time, he will be number one this time next year.

I would love for the stars to align. I like Tiger but I like Phil more.

And plus he is a lefty. We all have great short games :)

[RS22]

If Phil plays like he did the last two times we seen him play he has a shot. The difference between the two isn't that much right now. If tiger gets a bit cold (for tiger) and Phil has his best year of all time, he will be number one this time next year.

Although I do agree our short games are impeccable, Tiger will not be out of the #1 spot by this time next year. He would have to have such a completely terrible year (missed cuts, bottom finishes, etc.) along with Phil winning a bunch of tourneys to pass Tiger's lead within one year. All Phil can hope to do is have a good year and claw away at Tiger's world ranking lead. There is no way he will pass him in one year.

[wedge player]

He is a lefty for God's sake!

phil is actually right handed

[dummyisdumb]

phil is actually right handed

Well, he plays golf left-handed, if you couldn't tell. :P

[wedge player]

Well, he plays golf left-handed, if you couldn't tell. :P

yea but that doesnt mean hes a lefty he plays lefty but he is a righty.

[dummyisdumb]

yea but that doesnt mean hes a lefty he plays lefty but he is a righty.

Yes, Phil Mickelson is right-handed, but that doesn't really matter.

[Chilli Dipper]

JeezusHChristonapopsiclestick......

The answer to the above post is Vijay Singh, circa 2003-2005. 17 wins to Tiger's 12; eight top-10s to Tiger's six; roughly $3 million more earned in prize money; and the rightful world number one for much of 2004 and early 2005.

[RS22]

yea but that doesnt mean hes a lefty he plays lefty but he is a righty.

I'm right handed but I play lefty. I consider myself a lefty if anyone asks because I hit from that side of the ball

It's nice having your stronger arm leading the swing.

[lobsterzilla]

honestly ... i feel i pretty much laid out any arguement that can be made in this thread ....

[Where's the Cart Girl?]

Man I wish the Masters was next week.

So does Phil Mickelson.

I hope he carries the game he's toting now into next year, both for his sake and Tiger's. The more pressure he can put on Tiger the more Tiger will respond and the better the game will be for it. Right now there's no question Phil is playing better golf than he is, but somehow I doubt that will remain for a very long time. I don't think either of them give two shits about world ranking, but what they do care about are wins and at the moment Phil has Tiger's number. To question Tiger's "commitment" to non-majors is ludicrous, yet people tend to do it anyway. I've seen no indication at any point of any year that Tiger doesn't want to annihilate everyone in every tourney he plays in regardless of how (non) prestigious the event. My predictions for 2010: Phil gets back to form (close but no cigar more often than not). Tiger stays Tiger (7/8 wins; 1 major + 3 runner-ups ) and plenty of Thurs/Fri "what-if" talk but only 1-2 times that they both show up on Sunday battling for the 1 spot. Hope I'm wrong, I really do. I'd love to more Y.E. Yang-ish behavior from Phil, but sadly, I think his man-tits will continue to hold him back....

[Awsi Dooger]

I'm right handed but I play lefty. I consider myself a lefty if anyone asks because I hit from that side of the ball

Not for me, as a lefty who was handed righty clubs as a kid. That's by far my #1 golfing regret, that I didn't switch to fully left handed when I was 20ish and could already sense my left hand was too active and giving me problems, as the lead hand. I'm very wristy in tennis and ping pong, with top spin backhands, and that type of thing carries over to golf. I never know when that left hand will try to do too much. I switched to lefty putting at that time but only recently to lefty chipping, and it feels like stealing since my right hand is so docile. I never understood how guys were so consistent in chipping until I switched to lefty. I do get strange looks when playing with strangers, playing righty until greenside then pulling out a lefty wedge.

Anyway, Tiger is better than Phil. That's what I default to. Phil may be playing better but Tiger is the superior player and given enough samples, that will play itself out. Phil still misses too many short putts, even after the Stockton tutoring, and throws in the horrid shot when he least can afford it. More ways for Phil to make a crucial bogey. Bethpage, for example, as poorly as Tiger was playing, stick him in Mickelson's spot, tied for the lead, and I doubt he bogeys 2 of the last 4 holes, or whatever it was. However, Tiger is not swinging well. It's forced at the top and consequently he's blocking one shot after another. Plenty of months to fix it but it was glaring at the HSBC event. You could see the disgust in Tiger's face, even on iron shots that quickly were 20-40 feet right. I think it stems from loss of distance relative to the field. Brandel Chamblee made that point in a recent article, that Tiger is the only player to lose distance (actually break even) over the past decade. Tiger lashes at his drives and they still fall well short of Mickelson and Watney, to use last weekend's example. I think that contributes greatly to Phil's increased confidence against Tiger. At Doral in 2005 in the famous head to head duel, Tiger was comfortably knocking it past Phil in the final round. Phil seemed surprised, and he pressed. Now Phil has the little grin, and has made little digs that he can fly it past Tiger's ball. It looks like the distance disadvantage causes Tiger to press and it funnels into the rest of his game, not merely the driver.

[Leftygolfer]

I just don't see it being a distance issue with tiger. I didn't get to see the tourney, how far was phil out driving him by?

And Phil isn't fat.

[lobsterzilla]

phil isnt fat at all he just has pointy nips. he used to be kinda dumpy tho ...

[Leftygolfer]

He defineity doesn't have the GQ body but he is in good shape for the genetics he was given.

[Chilli Dipper]

Phil's physique isn't what it was a decade ago (just go back and watch highlights from the 1999 Open at Pinehurst), but he's in much better shape now than he was five years ago.

[lobsterzilla]

how did this thread dissolve into talking about phil's boobs.

[RS22]

how did this thread dissolve into talking about phil's boobs.

Boobs have a way of doing that to you, even a man's boobs lol.