Phil & Pinehurst - A Perfect Pair?

By: Dave Droschak

[Editor's Note: Cybergolf's Dave Droschak is in Pinehurst for the 114th U.S. Open. Here's Dave's first report.]

Phil Mickelson took the brunt of the 93-degree heat in the North Carolina Sandhills squarely on his shoulders Wednesday. Lefty wore a black shirt and black hat while putting in some final work on the practice range, pounding irons and drivers in front of a packed grandstand watching his every expression, gesture and body language.

You would never know Mickelson, who has won 42 times on the PGA Tour and secured more than $3.7 million in earnings for 10 straight seasons, is under the gun this week at Pinehurst No. 2. He smiled and joked with the crowd, talked strategy with Bones his caddie and appeared to be relaxed and focused less than 24 hours from yet again facing his No. 1 career failure - the U.S. Open.

The last top-level golfer to endure such a level of anguish at the Open was the legendary Sam Snead, who captured the other three majors, but four times missed out on the U.S. Open Championship with second-place finishes.

Mickelson, the best golfer of his generation not named Tiger Woods, has seemingly taken Snead's dejections at this event to a new level. Six times Mickelson has finished second at the U.S. Open at various venues, including here at Pinehurst in 1999 when Payne Stewart sank an 18-foot putt on the 72nd hole to avoid a Monday playoff and send Lefty packing in time to attend the birth of his first child.

He and Stewart exchanged words on the green that day, briefly discussing fatherhood and winning future U.S. Opens. And while there have been more kids for Mickelson over the last 15 years, what he describes as the ultimate prize in golf has been his most difficult challenge - and remains null and void on his Hall of Fame resume.

And there is even more drama this time around. Mickelson's victory in last year's British Open Championship leaves him one step away from the career Grand Slam, an accomplishment that would place him in some glorified golfing air.

"I feel like the five players who have won all four majors have separated themselves from the other players throughout time," he said. "It shows they have a complete game."

A complete game will be a must this week for any player who expects to tame the new No. 2 - a wild mix of fast fairways, crusty edges leading directly into sandy wastelands filled with native grasses, and peril. Couple that with undulating collection areas leading to tricky turtleback greens, and you have yourself one heck of a U.S. Open test.

The pressures of U.S. Opens are nothing new to Phil; he'll be playing in his 24th, only missing the cut once in 2007. So, there's a good chance Mickelson will be around this Sunday for the drama. Whether he'll be in the mix over the final hours of competition or even a part of the trophy ceremony could be a long shot.

I know golf fans and TV executives alike want to place their hands over their ears with that analysis. For one thing, Mickelson is not playing well, meaning his confidence is not at a championship level as he prepares to tackle one of golf's top tests. He has no top-10 finishes in 14 tournaments so far in 2014, and is 153rd on Tour in final-round scoring at 72.22.

In addition, Lefty's putting has been mediocre at best and he has switched to the claw grip this week. Adjusting putting grips prior to a major is never a good signal.

And just how many times can a player recover from failure or, for that matter, be in a position to win the title. Mickelson led for the first three rounds last year before watching Justin Rose overtake him for yet another second-place finish.

But Mickelson did major in Psychology at Arizona State, so his past U.S. Open failures just might serve as an impetus to get off the canvas one final time and see if he's got more than a puncher's chance at securing golfing immortality in one of the game's most iconic settings.

Stewart blew the Open the year before winning at Pinehurst. So who knows, the spirits, the karma - whatever you want to call it - may be circling ever so slightly here amidst the stagnant summer air.

For the first two rounds, Mickelson will again be paired with Rose in what amounts to overtime from their final-round battle in 2013 - and without Woods around this time - likely the major gallery focus Thursday and Friday.

"I enjoy playing golf with Phil," Rose said. "I enjoy the spirit in which he plays the game, how free he is out there. He's got a great temperament for the game. Nothing seems to faze him. It is hard to play that way and that has stood in good stead for him throughout his career for sure."

USGA executive director Mike Davis said Wednesday that the restoration of No. 2 "dangles carrots in front of players," so we'll see if Mickelson's vast Open experience will serve him well or if his aggressive golfing track record will win out.

While some players have talked about "laying back" off some of the tees at Pinehurst No. 2, Mickelson was hitting the driver hard on the range Wednesday - and plans to use if off most times - at least to start out the championship.

"The greens are so repellant that you need to get as close to them as possible," Mickelson said. "I'll be trying to play this golf course fairly aggressively."

Mickelson turns 44 on Monday, meaning the likelihood of capturing an Open is realistically slipping away with each passing round.

"I can see kind of the momentum coming this week, but this is a golf course where you can't get ahead of yourself. You have to be able to control your thoughts and be patient with it," Mickelson said of the possibility of winning this weekend.

"I have been looking forward to this week and it would mean a lot to me, but if I get ahead of myself I won't have a chance."

David Droschak has covered golf in the Carolinas for three decades, mostly with The Associated Press, where he worked for 20 years as AP sports editor in North Carolina prior to launching Droschak Communications, a full-service marketing and PR firm based in Apex, N.C.

Dave, 53, has covered numerous major golf tournaments, including the 1999 and 2005 U.S. Opens at Pinehurst Resort, and is a longtime member of the Golf Writers Association of America. Dave will represent Cybergolf to provide coverage of the historic back-to-back 2014 U.S. Men's and Women's Opens at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina's Sandhills.

Dave was honored with the Sports Writer of the Year award in North Carolina in 2005, and is currently editor of Triangle Golf Today (www.trianglegolf.com), a print and online publication regarded as the "No. 1 Source for Golf News in North Carolina." He is also golf editor for Pinehurst Magazine, an award-winning glossy publication.

Dave grew up in Penn Hills, Pa., about five minutes from famed Oakmont Country Club and was introduced to the game of golf as a caddie at Green Oaks Country Club in nearby Verona, Pa. Dave was the co-captain of the 1978 Penn Hills state championship baseball team, was a pitcher for the 1982 Atlantic Coast Conference champion University of North Carolina Tar Heels, and pitched professionally for two years in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. He is a member of the Penn Hills High School Sports Hall of Fame, which also includes NBA coach George Karl and former four-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Bill Fralic.

Tweet