When former PGA President Ted Bishop was given the boot from the PGA after calling Ian Poulter a “lil girl” some may have thought that we had heard the last from the camera seeking Bishop. Well some guys don’t disappear that easy.
Bishop, who never met a camera or microphone he didn’t like appears in the current issue of Sports Illustrated’s Golf+Digital as the author of his own article. The subject of his piece is his beloved Ryder Cup and Phil Mickelson.
Bishop says that “The real boss of the U.S. Ryder Cup Team is Phil Mickelson.” 
A few things come across clear as day from Bishop: first off he is still bitter about his ouster from the PGA (maybe justly so) and he not thrilled that he isn’t getting credit for starting the task force. Also, he still staunchly defends his Ryder Cup Captain, Tom Watson and Bishop wants all to know that Phil was able to call all the shots on this task force.
“What is curious is how Love wound up as captain. A majority of the eight men who represented the players and past captains on the task force wanted Fred Couples to take the helm. Many other people believed that Paul Azinger, the winning captain in 2008, should’ve been the choice. But he didn’t have the players’ support. I still keep in touch with Mickelson and several other players from the ’14 team. Phil has told me flatly that he loved Azinger’s system, but he was not a fan of his leadership style. I’ve had my own experiences with Azinger, so I understood where Phil was coming from. Paul is a unique character-he has strong opinions and can sometimes be abrasive.”
“It’s clear that Mickelson controlled the tenor of the task-force meetings. Last week, when a reporter asked Love how he evolved from a task-force member to captain, Phil practically knocked down Davis to grab the microphone. Mickelson was quick to point out that Love had not lobbied for the job. He said Davis sees the big picture, has the experience and is a perfect fit. He also acknowledged that Love had made mistakes at Medinah and that he had learned from those mistakes. Phil capped his remarks by saying, “Davis will put us in a position to succeed rather than create obstacles to overcome.” Phil was clearly taking another shot at Watson.”
In closing, Bishop noted the obvious absence of Tiger Woods at the press conference and thinks maybe Phil has finally found a spot where he is the top dog over Woods.
“I can’t help but think that Phil’s taking charge of the U.S. Ryder Cup process might represent the first time in years he isn’t living in Tiger’s shadow. I wonder if that has motivated Phil, because he certainly seems energized by the task at hand.”
If Bishop was having conversations with Phil I can’t imagine Phil taking his calls after this. Bishop still needs that pulpit from which to espouse his doctrine. A man who loved the limelight, he still needs to feel connected. But I would think he may have burned a few bridges here.
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