by Jeff Skinner
There is a good interview with Phil Mickelson in Golf Digest this month. Bob Verdi asks some great
questions. Phil is quite candid throughout the interview and Verdi covers a myriad of subjects. Phil actually has a dinosaur head and a 300 pound meteorite that were given to him by his wife Amy. He loves New York City and the fans and can’t wait for the Open at Bethpage. I was there the last time and watched as guys called out,” Are those “A” cups Phil?” That was before the new “trim and fit” Phil. On the subject of his relationship with Tiger, “We get along just fine…” He had some radical ideas to rework the PGA Tour that copies a revenue sharing program like the NFL uses. He thinks the Tour (read Tim Finchem) talks to Tiger and complains that the tour did not listen to Phil, Tiger and Ernie Els when they suggested a three tournament FedEx Cup playoff and not a four event finish. Phil actually confronted Finchem because he felt he was misrepresented by him to sponsors. Phil stops short of calling Steve Williams classless but is steadfast in his belief that his man Bones (Jim Mackay) is a class act and the best caddy out there. Phil even lays out his business plan to give every American access to a tax free retirement account and life insurance. Phil has a lot of irons in the fire and does not hold back on any subject. Check it out.
The recent incident involving David Feherty and his remarks about the military’s attitude toward the U.S. policy makers is another in a long history of missteps by golf commentators. You know the old saying,” Open mouth, insert foot.” Devil Ball Golf presents an accounting of some of the more famous cases of speaking before thinking. Some of the announcers made out better than others; Tilghman took a lot of grief, it ruined Ben Wright’s career and Gary McCord has made a career of being “banned from the Masters.” Let’s hope Feherty can survive. He’s as witty as they come and CBS should realize it. Check it out.
Related Articles
