Is Phil Mickelson Going Nuts?: Hitting a moving ball at US Open

[Vinsk]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

Seriously. It's too little too late for me re: Phil, but she is still beating that drum.

The apology means nothing. It’s just a ‘McPology’ for the social butterflies. He’s a swindler and tried to throw one over the masses with his lie. It failed. I honestly think Phil isn’t near as smart as he thinks he is. We’ve all heard about his gambling and his aggressive Tuesday money games, trash talk, shady business deals, etc. That’s probably the real Phil. I’ll root for him over Poulter or Sabbatini any day...but otherwise not a big fan.

[Aflighter]

I wouldn't have apologized.I would have come out Sunday and teed off with a putter all day and really piss everyone off.Phil's brand is strong enough he shouldn't have to ask for forgiveness.The true Phil fans don't worry about what he did and the haters don't matter.Your never gonna please everyone.

Edited June 20, 2018 by Aflighter

[Shorty]

33 minutes ago, Aflighter said:

I wouldn't have apologized.I would have come out Sunday and teed off with a putter all day and really piss everyone off.

Wow! How hilarious! Wouldn't that be cool?! What a guy! Haters gonna hate, hey? You'd really be making a point strongly! Awesome! Imagine all those stuffed shirts with monocles and starched collars getting all heated up, but knowing there's NOTHING they can do!

Edited June 20, 2018 by Shorty

[turtleback]

4 hours ago, JonMA1 said:

Probably a lot of truth to the quote above. 

As a fan, the apology works for me. Again, not that it matters what I think. He's an imperfect pro athlete and this is preferable to just continuing his denial.

(See Lexi... not that difficult.)

I am willing to give him a provisional pass, subject to him being willing to address the issue at the next tournament he plays in at a presser, and if he is honest in what he says there.  It would also be good for him as preparation for the inevitable grilling to which he will be put at the British Open.

[The Recreational Golfer]

I was on the practice green today working on the Mickelson Exception, but I'm 68 years old and can't run that fast any more, so I tried throwing my putter after the ball. It worked pretty well.

[brocks]

I have been super busy renovating a house I recently bought, so I haven't been following golf closely, and I'm very late to the party on this one.  My opinions have probably already been stated many times because they seem fairly standard and obvious to me, but I'll chime in anyway.

First, I'm very surprised at the level of animosity against Phil.  Talk about "What have you done for me lately?," here's a guy who has spent the last 25+ years doing his best to be as gracious to fans as he could, probably the best since Arnie, and yet he has one brain fart and the knives are out.  I know all about FIGJAM and Phony Phil, but you HAVE to be phony to be nice to the galleries, because they are full of idiots.  Don't get me wrong, I'm one of them, and most of us are respectful of the players and the game, but even if it's only 10% that are loud and obnoxious, that's thousands at any one event, and the fact they are the loudest and pushiest triples their impact. 

Seriously, if he smiles and chats and signs autographs for an hour when he'd rather be relaxing somewhere, I guess technically that's phony, but in a good way, so what's wrong with it?  I mean, how many people would actually prefer to hang around a bunch of half-drunk morons than go home to their wives?

I'm also aware that there are many people who have nothing against Phil, but still think he should have been DQd.  And I'm one of them.  I like him, I like the way he tries to be fan friendly, and I don't care about his personal life -- and even if I did, I haven't heard much bad about him, other than his ego, as if being arguably the second best golfer of his generation, especially when that generation (IMO) includes the GOAT, shouldn't inflate his ego.

But when I say he should have been DQd, I mean in a perfect world, which this obviously isn't, because golf rules are often stupid.  In this situation, the rule was properly applied, so he didn't get DQd, but the rule is wrong.  Lots of the rules are wrong.   Up to a couple of years ago, you could get DQd for signing an incorrect score card, even when you had no idea it was incorrect.  The USGA and R&A thought that deserved a DQ, but deliberately hitting a moving ball didn't.  It's crazy.

People say he gained an advantage from his action.  Well, duh.  I've seen guys who hit a poor approach, got an absolutely dead lie, but then got a free drop because a TV cable was nearby.  Then they got another free drop because the bleachers were in the way.  Then they got another free drop because of a sprinkler head.  And by the time they were done, they went from being in the rough in a horrible lie to being on the fringe, or even on the green.  Talk about gaining an advantage. And the rules official was directing them every step of the way.  I repeat, it's crazy.

This is a golden opportunity for them to change the rule.  Deliberately hit a moving ball, DQ.  Very simple.

[boogielicious]

7 hours ago, The Recreational Golfer said:

I was on the practice green today working on the Mickelson Exception, but I'm 68 years old and can't run that fast any more, so I tried throwing my putter after the ball. It worked pretty well.

I am going to have to try that!

[fishgolf]

1 hour ago, boogielicious said:

I am going to have to try that!

Remember to fix your divots.

[No Mulligans]

On 6/19/2018 at 6:19 PM, Buckeyebowman said:

Let's face it, Saturday afternoon was not much fun to watch! It was pretty dismal golf, and everyone could understand the reason why!

 

I thought it was the most entertaining golf of the year. It brought in more variety, an element of luck and frustration and brought the USGA and course set up into the discussion.  That Koepka shot that looked perfect but ended in the trap, that sure stired me up in a pissed off at the course set up kind of way.  I sure wasn't falling asleep as I usually do watching golf.

The Phil thing, I'll give him a pass.  There are too many examples of him being a gracious off camera here in San Diego to paint a broad stroke based on this bad act.  Just makes him human.  I'm not one to put celebrities on a pedestal so perhaps my expectations aren't as high as others.

Edited June 21, 2018 by No Mulligans

[3jacker]

22 hours ago, iacas said:

Too little, too late IMO, but Phil apologized:

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/phil-mickelson-says-hes-embarrassed-and-disappointed-apologizes-for-moving-ball-incident-at-us-open

I say "too little too late" because, again, his first reaction was to lie to people. And this feels like, upon seeing how much damage his "brand" is taking, he's trying to stop the bleeding.

Whatever.

Did you give Tiger a second chance? 

What he did was far, far worse.

12 hours ago, brocks said:

I have been super busy renovating a house I recently bought, so I haven't been following golf closely, and I'm very late to the party on this one.  My opinions have probably already been stated many times because they seem fairly standard and obvious to me, but I'll chime in anyway.

First, I'm very surprised at the level of animosity against Phil.  Talk about "What have you done for me lately?," here's a guy who has spent the last 25+ years doing his best to be as gracious to fans as he could, probably the best since Arnie, and yet he has one brain fart and the knives are out.  I know all about FIGJAM and Phony Phil, but you HAVE to be phony to be nice to the galleries, because they are full of idiots.  Don't get me wrong, I'm one of them, and most of us are respectful of the players and the game, but even if it's only 10% that are loud and obnoxious, that's thousands at any one event, and the fact they are the loudest and pushiest triples their impact. 

Seriously, if he smiles and chats and signs autographs for an hour when he'd rather be relaxing somewhere, I guess technically that's phony, but in a good way, so what's wrong with it?  I mean, how many people would actually prefer to hang around a bunch of half-drunk morons than go home to their wives?

I'm also aware that there are many people who have nothing against Phil, but still think he should have been DQd.  And I'm one of them.  I like him, I like the way he tries to be fan friendly, and I don't care about his personal life -- and even if I did, I haven't heard much bad about him, other than his ego, as if being arguably the second best golfer of his generation, especially when that generation (IMO) includes the GOAT, shouldn't inflate his ego.

But when I say he should have been DQd, I mean in a perfect world, which this obviously isn't, because golf rules are often stupid.  In this situation, the rule was properly applied, so he didn't get DQd, but the rule is wrong.  Lots of the rules are wrong.   Up to a couple of years ago, you could get DQd for signing an incorrect score card, even when you had no idea it was incorrect.  The USGA and R&A thought that deserved a DQ, but deliberately hitting a moving ball didn't.  It's crazy.

People say he gained an advantage from his action.  Well, duh.  I've seen guys who hit a poor approach, got an absolutely dead lie, but then got a free drop because a TV cable was nearby.  Then they got another free drop because the bleachers were in the way.  Then they got another free drop because of a sprinkler head.  And by the time they were done, they went from being in the rough in a horrible lie to being on the fringe, or even on the green.  Talk about gaining an advantage. And the rules official was directing them every step of the way.  I repeat, it's crazy.

This is a golden opportunity for them to change the rule.  Deliberately hit a moving ball, DQ.  Very simple.

Phil's record as a champion and ambassador for the game of golf are without peer in the current game.

Everyone gets a pass now and then, if they've earned it.  He has.

The Phil haters are just gonna do their thing here.  Just like the Tiger haters will on other threads.

[saevel25]

1 hour ago, 3jacker said:

Phil's record as a champion and ambassador for the game of golf are without peer in the current game.

Everyone gets a pass now and then, if they've earned it.  He has.

No one should get a pass for breaking rules. No one should get a pass for lying. They should be called out and they really should apologize for it. If not, then its a knock on their character. This is for any golfer, not just Tiger, not just Phil.

In the eyes of many, Phil did more than just violate the rule he got penalized for. That is why there is rule 1-2.

[iacas]

From GCA, a quote with which I mostly agree:

To me at least, the "issue" of which rule should apply to what Mickelson did is mildly interesting, and nothing more.  I think the point of the confusion over which rule applies comes out of the fact that the Rules don't really contemplate situations like this, so that neither applies perfectly.  The Rules are meant to cover situations that arise in the more-or-less "normal" play of the game, not an entitled asshat having a nervous breakdown/pity party at the US Open, and then lying about it on national TV.

What IS interesting to me is the reveal of Mickelson telling fans who had a problem with what he did to "toughen up". This a guy who gets to play golf for a living telling everybody else to toughen up? There is a part of my anatomy upon which he may plant his lips, now and forever. The last thing in the world I need is somebody telling me to toughen up; I'll swap problems with him ANY day, and that's without even knowing all of his.

1 hour ago, 3jacker said:

Did you give Tiger a second chance? 

What he did was far, far worse.

For what? I literally don't know the context.

If you're talking about his drop at The Masters… I called for him to be DQed. In fact, I played a vital role in that whole thing (I won't get into it again here, but I was second to David Eger in the "call-in" part there), and I called again for a DQ there.

But what he did was absent-minded. He dropped back on the wrong line two yards behind where he should have. There was no willful action and intent to breach the rules. And he didn't lie about it after - he was so brain farty he admitted to it in the post-round interview.

Not even remotely the same thing. Nowhere near as bad.

1 hour ago, 3jacker said:

Phil's record as a champion and ambassador for the game of golf are without peer in the current game.

Phil's record as a champion are with a peer - Tiger Woods. As an "ambassador" well, there's no real way to measure that, so if you want to like a guy and hate the others, that's one of the vehicles you choose to do it.

1 hour ago, 3jacker said:

Everyone gets a pass now and then, if they've earned it. He has.

Phil's used up his free passes, and I don't give them out for lying about golf stuff very often.

1 hour ago, 3jacker said:

The Phil haters are just gonna do their thing here.  Just like the Tiger haters will on other threads.

I wasn't a Phil hater. I didn't want to be one. I'm not even one now. I just see him with clearer vision now, and don't particularly like what I saw. I don't hate it, but it reflected quite poorly on him.

The end of the world? Far from it. Tempest in a teapot.

[GrandStranded]

23 hours ago, Vinsk said:

The apology means nothing. It’s just a ‘McPology’ for the social butterflies. He’s a swindler and tried to throw one over the masses with his lie. It failed. I honestly think Phil isn’t near as smart as he thinks he is. We’ve all heard about his gambling and his aggressive Tuesday money games, trash talk, shady business deals, etc. That’s probably the real Phil. I’ll root for him over Poulter or Sabbatini any day...but otherwise not a big fan.

Glad to see the resident Ray of Sunshine chime in...

[JonMA1]

21 hours ago, Shorty said:

Wow! How hilarious! Wouldn't that be cool?! What a guy! Haters gonna hate, hey? You'd really be making a point strongly! Awesome! Imagine all those stuffed shirts with monocles and starched collars getting all heated up, but knowing there's NOTHING they can do!

I can't read this without Stewie Griffin's voice narrating it in my head.

[boogielicious]

FWIW, all the jokes in my league last night on the green were to pull a "Mickelson" and run and stop your ball if it screams past the hole.

[boogielicious]

13 hours ago, JonMA1 said:

I can't read this without Stewie Griffin's voice narrating it in my head.

Now I will forever have that voice in my head with all sarcastic posts. 

 

[Jack Watson]

Phil’s a legend.  He was out of it and probably pissed off about the poor setup of the course.  USGA screwed with him so lex talionis!

If finding out sports figures might not be perfect people bothers you then toughen up.

Phil has provided great entertainment to millions for many years.  Basically this thread comes down to this:  if you like a golfer who takes advantage of the rules then they are labeled smart,  if you don’t then they are cheating liars.

[sheepdog]

You Phil haters can catch up with him here in Memphis every year. The best place to find him is coming out of St. Jude after he has spent hours in there and cut them a check in the high six figure range.

Come on, every pro athlete has a moment they'd just as soon take a mulligan on. I wish he'd have withdrawn after the third round but he didn't. I just see it as him being human.