by Jeff Skinner
On the eve of the PGA Championship Phil Mickelson has revealed that he is being treated for arthritis. He says he has it under control by giving himself weekly anti- inflammatory injections. As if Phil doesn’t have enough going on in his life, now he is dealing with this.
This week at Whistling Straights he’ll be tested from tee to green on that monster of a course, ahh the greens. That’s where Phil’s game has betrayed him. He can’t seem to make the gimmie putts. You know the ones that you and your buddies give each other each week. The ones inside the leather are the ones that give Philly Mick the most trouble. If professional golfers played “inside the leather” Phil would be the one chasing down Mr. Nicklaus.
Phil has been missing those short ones for a long time now and it doesn’t matter if he is under the watchful eyes of Dave Pelz, Butch Harmon or Dave Stockton, he can’t seem to make the “should make” short putts. He’s been teasing us for years with his escape artist short game but even at his best when he is winning majors he still finds a way to slide a few short ones by the hole. Remember this year’s Masters final round? Phil hits the shot of the tournament on thirteen from the pine straw, under and through the trees to three feet. It was a remarkable shot. In typical Phil fashion he gets up there and he misses the putt. He still goes on to win but he never makes it easy on himself. That’s Phil, he teases us every week.
Check out Phil talking about his arthritis.
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