Golf International Magazine Online

September 2007 - Posts

• US Team May Have Presidents Cup Advantage

  One cup is over. Another cup has started. The question is whether a world-class collection of players at Royal Montreal have enough left to fill the Presidents Cup with the kind of golf that has made these matches so compelling over the last few years. Tiger Woods, who plays fewer golf tournaments than any other star, will be competing for the sixth time in nine weeks. Ditto for Phil Mickelson, who usually shuts it down this time of year. Even an ironman like Vijay Singh has spent an awful lot of time inside the ropes, skipping only two weeks since August. Blame that on the FedEx Cup, a four-week bonanza that ended only nine days ago for 16 players in the Presidents Cup. It only figures to get tougher next year, with the Ryder Cup scheduled for the week after the Tour Championship. As much as players are cursing the schedule, it could turn out to be a blessing. "You would think that you're pretty prepared to be here, maybe more so than years past, because of playing so much golf recently," David Toms said Tuesday. "I think that's something they need to take a look at in the future, how much golf is being played at this particular time. For us this year, I know we have a lot of guys who are coming in and playing well, and it should be an advantage for us." Indeed, the FedEx Cup could be a good barometer for these matches. Woods is playing a lot of golf, but playing well. He has won four of the five tournaments he has played dating to the Bridgestone Invitational, including his last two to easily win the FedEx Cup. The other two playoff events were won by Phil Mickelson (Deutsche Bank) and Steve Stricker (Barclays). Since all 24 players from the United States and International teams are PGA Tour members, an even better barometer might be the 30-man field at the Tour Championship. Ten Americans were at East Lake, the exception being Toms (No. 32) and Lucas Glover (No. 35). The International team had only six players in the Tour Championship, and two of the players -- Mike Weir and Retief Goosen -- didn't even qualify for the 70-man field the previous week at the BMW Championship. "Our team has been really playing well," U.S. captain Jack Nicklaus said. "I think they are well prepared." Nicklaus tried to make the case the International team is stronger on paper, which is usually the norm. Comprised of players from all but European countries, the team has an average world ranking of 18.5, with Weir the lowest at No. 46. The United States has an average ranking of 21.9, with Glover the lowest at No. 61. International captain Gary Player, however, was quick to point out the United States was top-heavy in the world ranking with Woods, Mickelson, Jim Furyk and Stricker the new "Big Four." It is believed to be the first time in the 21-year history of the world ranking that Americans have occupied the top four spots. While the International team looks good on paper, it hasn't looked good in competition lately. The most recent winner is K.J. Choi at the AT&T National in July. Angel Cabrera hasn't done much since his U.S. Open victory in June, and Singh played five consecutive tournaments over par until finishing 10 under at easy East Lake. Even so, Player had reason to believe "the stage is set for another great match." The last two have been so close they essentially were decided by one shot -- Chris DiMarco's 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole of the final match in 2005 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia. The matches ended in a tie in South Africa in 2003. "I think that the whole 'on paper' is kind of a farce," Furyk said. "If we have a tour that's deep enough where 100 guys can go out on any week and win a tournament, then 12 of the best players from any side can go out and win that week. A lot of it is momentum. Obviously, you don't want to get behind early." Closing out matches is equally important, as the International team learned last time. Of the 12 matches that went to the 18th hole in 2005, the Americans won five and halved seven. That included DiMarco's match against Stuart Appleby that set off a rare but wild celebration with Nicklaus at the center. "To be on the losing end, it was pretty gutting," Appleby said. "The entire team felt like I did." Appleby is one of only three players on the International team who have known the feeling of winning the Presidents Cup. The others are Ernie Els and Singh, the three of them on the 1998 that whipped the United States in Australia. Appleby looks at that '98 team and wonders how it did so well. It featured Frank Nobilo, who was nearing the end of his career, and Carlos Franco, who was making his way through Q-school. "We've come a long way as an International team, and we need to start winning," he said. "We have the desire. We all want to be here. But we have to taste victory. It's been a while." Posted Sep 28 2007, 08:38 AM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, FedEx Cup, Presidents Cup

• Tiger Woods Done For The Season

  Tiger Woods ended his season by winning his second Tour Championship and collecting his 61st career PGA Tour title but it could be a while before he gets a chance to celebrate No 62. "I am putting the clubs away," said Woods, who has all but locked up Player of The Year honors. "I am not picking them up, just getting away from it. We don't have nannies. We do it ourselves. We don't want anyone else raising our child because it is our child. "Elin has been a complete stud about it and doing it all on her own. When I am there I can help." Woods said he also planned to do a little scuba diving during his break which is well earned after winning four of his last five tournaments and the just completed inaugural FedExCup playoffs. After he finishes the President's Cup, Woods doesn't plan on playing again until the Target World Challenge in mid-December. The two-and-a-half month break would be one of the longest of his 12-year career. Victory was doubly sweet for Woods in Atlanta as he not only rewrote the Tour Championship record book but he earned a US$10 million FedExCup bonus, which could surpass US$30 million over time. The bonus would be paid as an annuity into his retirement account. With an eight per cent annual return on an investment his US$10 million could swell to US$30 million by the time he is eligible to collect it at 45. "Overall the FedExCup was a success," said Woods, who also won the Tour Championship in 1999 when it was held in Houston. "There needs to be tweaks but I think it provided a lot of drama towards the end of the season." His 23-under 257 was the lowest aggregate 72-hole score in Tour Championship history, shattering Bart Bryant's 2005 record by six strokes. He has won four of his past five tournaments and is 75-under during that stretch with a 66.6 scoring average. Woods is now within just one victory of Arnold Palmer for fourth on the Tour's all-time win list but he probably won't get it until next year. He also has No 3 Ben Hogan (64) in his sights. Sam Snead is the all-time leader at 82 with Jack Nicklaus at 73. "When you are in contention it wears on you all the time," Woods said. "It is not like you can go home and get away from it because you are right there with a chance to win a tournament. "People questioned why I took the first week off of the FedExCup, but that is one of the reasons why. I won the PGA Championship, the Bridgestone event, a World Golf Championship and those are big events. It takes a lot out of you." Woods also won a personal best US$10.8 million this year, just shy of Vijay Singh's single season record of US$10.9 million set in 2004. Asked if he was in his prime Woods replied: "I don't think so. The whole idea is to try and keep improving. "When all is said and done and you rack the cue and go home and retire you can honestly say these were my best years, when I was at my peak. "But when you are in it, you're always trying to improve that little bit to get to the next level." Posted Sep 21 2007, 08:37 AM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, Tiger Woods

• Tiger Woods Coasts to Eight Shot Win

  This new era in golf sure had a familiar ending. Tiger Woods never paid much attention to the FedEx Cup until it was shining before him on a pedestal on the 18th green Sunday at East Lake. He always figured his name would be the first engraved on the new trophy as long as he kept winning. And there was never a doubt. In his final event of another spectacular season, Woods closed with a 4-under 66 to shatter the tournament record and win the Tour Championship by eight shots for his second straight victory in these PGA Tour Playoffs. The only new twist? It was the first time Woods won two trophies at one tournament. Along with earning $1.26 million in cash for winning the Tour Championship for his seventh PGA Tour title of the year, Woods was a runaway winner of the FedEx Cup and the $10 million that goes into a retirement account. "I don't look at what the purse is or the prize money," Woods said. "You play. And when you play, you play to win, period. That's how my dad raised me, is you go out there and win. If you win, everything will take care of itself. You take great pride in what you do on the golf course, and when you're able to win events, that's when you can go home and be very proud of what you've done." If this was supposed to be golf's version of the Super Bowl, Woods spent most of the final round taking a knee. The only drama was whether he would break the 72-hole scoring record on the PGA Tour. With a late bogey, Woods had to settle for a 23-under 257, the lowest of his career, breaking the Tour Championship record by six shots. Masters champion Zach Johnson (68) and Mark Calcavecchia (71) tied for second. Steve Stricker and Phil Mickelson were the only other players with a realistic chance of capturing the FedEx Cup, and their hopes were gone by the weekend. Stricker closed with a 67 and tied for 17th to finish second in the FedEx Cup, worth $3 million in retirement money. Woods, however, made no secret of which trophy meant more. "I think winning this week is pretty special," he said. "Winning the FedEx Cup is one thing, but I think as a player, you always want to win the Tour Championship. There's history involved, and the players who have won it ... these are basically the 30 hottest players for this year, and you know you're going to have your hands full coming into this week." Everyone else must have felt empty when they left. It was eighth time in his career that Woods has won by at least eight shots, and based on his rate of winning, his career seems to have no limits. He ended the year with four victories in his last five starts, and now has won 15 times in his last 31 tour events over the last two years. "The man is a freak of nature," Johnson said. The FedEx Cup was created to put some sizzle into the final month of a shorter season, resetting a points system for the final four tournaments. Woods skipped the first one in New York, and he probably could have skipped another one. "We had some great drama," Woods said of the inaugural FedEx Cup season. "In the end, it was a lot of fun for all of us." There was no drama at East Lake, not with Woods hitting on all cylinders to wrap up another phenomenal year. Along with seven victories, his adjusted scoring average of 67.79 matches the PGA Tour record he set in 2000. He has played his last five tournaments in 75-under par, and his victory at East Lake pushed his season earnings to $10,876,052. That's just $29,114 short of the tour record set by Vijay Singh in 2004, when he played 29 times. Woods played 16 events this year. His primary objective is winning majors, and he already has 13 of those. The World Golf Championships were created in 1999, and he has won 14 of 25. The latest invention is the FedEx Cup, which changed nothing but Woods' bank account. "It just makes it harder for the rest of us," Johnson said. "Why give him another thing to try to achieve. He's a very driven man. When you add another element to that drive, what are you going to do?" Woods won for the 61st time in his career, at 31 making him the youngest player to reach that mark. That leaves him one victory shy of Arnold Palmer's 62 career victories. Woods has never lost any tournament as a pro when leading by more than one shot going into the final round. The only historical hope for anyone Sunday was that Woods twice failed to win with a share of the 54-hole lead, both times at East Lake. But that hope didn't last long. Calcavecchia birdied the first hole to get within two shots, and while that was as close as anyone got to him all day, Woods looked shaky at the start. After a bogey on the second hole, Woods' approach to No. 3 went over the green and into a bed of pine straw. He hit a flop shot to 8 feet, and the par putt caught just enough of the edge to drop into the cup. "That was a big putt," Woods said. "I didn't want to lose two shots back-to-back and give the guys ahead of me all the momentum." The pivotal shot, if there was one, came on the par-3 sixth hole. The tee was all the way back, a 200-yard carry over the lake, and Woods hit his tee shot to 3 feet for birdie. He slapped hands with caddie Steve Williams walking off the tee, and the rest became a formality with a few peculiar twists. Johnson, who flirted with a 59 on Saturday to get back in the mix, made three straight birdies and was standing over a 30-foot eagle putt on the ninth that would have pulled him within two shots of the lead. But he was interrupted by the thud of a ball landing on the front of the green -- Woods' second shot out of the left rough from 286 yards away. Johnson ran his putt 4 feet by the hole and three-putted for par, and Woods got up-and-down for birdie to stretch his lead to five. The only drama remaining was how low Woods could go, a record that likely will never be broken at East Lake given the unusual circumstances. The greens were nearly died a few weeks ago from record heat and a drought, and while the tour staff did an admirable job getting them playable for the Tour Championship, they were soft and slow, and the pins were kept away from the barren spots around the edges. It was target practice from the opening shot, reflected it in the record scoring. And the winner. 257 Tiger Woods 64 63 64 66 265 Mark Calcavecchia 65 66 63 71, Zach Johnson 71 66 60 68 266 Sergio Garcia (Spa) 68 64 64 70 269 Hunter Mahan 65 68 65 71, Scott Verplank 66 68 67 68 270 Vijay Singh (Fij) 68 68 65 69, Tim Clark (Rsa) 62 69 70 69 271 Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 68 68 67 68, Camilo Villegas (Col) 67 68 70 66 273 Justin Rose (Eng) 69 71 66 67, Jim Furyk 71 69 67 66, Robert Allenby (Aus) 68 71 68 66, Woody Austin 65 65 69 74, Stewart Cink 67 66 71 69, Padraig Harrington (Irl) 63 70 67 73 274 Steve Stricker 69 67 71 67, Slocum Heath 71 64 69 70, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 68 70 62 74 275 Phil Mickelson 68 66 70 71 276 KJ Choi (Kor) 67 65 75 69, Boo Weekley 70 67 68 71 277 Jonathan Byrd 71 70 65 71 278 Aaron Baddeley (Aus) 69 70 68 71 279 John Rollins 64 69 73 73 280 Adam Scott (Aus) 65 66 71 78, Ernie Els (Rsa) 69 69 73 69 282 Brett Wetterich 68 69 70 75, Brandt Snedeker 71 72 68 71, Charles Howell III 68 71 69 74 Posted Sep 17 2007, 08:36 AM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, Tiger Woods

• Players And Fans Yet To Embrace FedEx Cup

  Robert Allenby was among those who feared the worst when he showed up Tuesday at East Lake. The greens were said to be in such miserable shape that the original edict was for no one to set foot on them until the opening round of the Tour Championship. When conditions slightly improved, the ban was lifted to allow for practice on all but three holes. "Not too bad," Allenby said as he inspected the ninth green. These days, that constitutes a compliment. There was grass on the green, so that was good. Some of the barren patches around the edges had been filled in with green sand. The putting surfaces looked more like a municipal course than home to the tour's showcase event. Still, it wasn't as bad as they thought. "It's not good, but it's not horrific," Allenby said. The conversation then shifted to a fourth consecutive week of a $7 million purse, and the finale of a FedEx Cup that would pour $35 million into retirement accounts for 144 players, with $10 million for the winner and 10th place getting $500,000. "For that kind of money, we should play on anything," Allenby concluded. That's good advice for all. The inaugural year of the FedEx Cup has worked about as well as can be expected. Going into the Tour Championship, an argument can be made that the three players with the best chance of capturing the cup are the best three players in golf this year -- Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker and Phil Mickelson. Woods has six victories, including a major. Mickelson has three victories, including The Players Championship, despite losing 10 weeks with an injured wrist. Stricker only has one victory -- in round one of these PGA Tour Playoffs -- but he has six top 5s and seemingly has been on the leaderboard ever since the U.S. Open. Even so, most of these guys have found some reason to complain. Woods and Mickelson have been the most critical about making the FedEx Cup bonus money deferred compensation instead of a pile of cash waiting for them on the 18th green at East Lake. Some have said the playoffs began with too many players. Others have said it's too hard for guys at the bottom to move toward the top. A common complaint is that four weeks in a row is too much golf. Stop for a minute. Woods and Mickelson were the ones out front in asking for a shorter season. They got it. Players were invited to a half-dozen meetings to look at the new model and offer suggestions. Most of them didn't bother to attend. It must be hard for fans to stomach the thought of these guys playing for $63 million over four weeks, in tournaments that have produced some of the best golf of the year, yet going out of their way to nitpick every detail. And it's a comical coincidence that the FedEx Cup was patterned after NASCAR, where 12 drivers qualify for the final 10 races that comprise "The Chase" to see who wins the Nextel Cup. Those dozen drivers will be in New York on Thursday doing promotional blitzes on everything from ESPN Zone to Letterman to Regis. Can you imagine PGA Tour players going out of their way to do that? It was no small victory for the tour when it got Woods to do a couple of commercials, one in which all he does his lace up his shoes while whistling "Eye of the Tiger." If the players aren't behind this FedEx Cup, how can the fans expect to embrace it? "But if we complain about it and we say, 'Too many tournaments in a row, deferred payment,' ... then the fans are going to be turned off and it's not going to be a very good television show," Stewart Cink said Tuesday. "Let's see how good we can make it, instead of driving it into the ground." Being a team player doesn't have to mean playing every event. It didn't help when Woods skipped The Barclays to kick off these playoffs, but he said he wouldn't be at his best if he played, and all he has done since then is tie for second at the Deutsche Bank and win the BMW Championship. K.J. Choi missed Boston, Mickelson missed Chicago, but all 30 are gathered in Atlanta for the conclusion. Surely, there are ways to make it better, although complaints far outweigh solutions. The one change that gets the most attention is having to play four straight weeks. Even some of the soldiers who have played them all are feeling exhausted, none more than Mark Calcavecchia. His tank is so empty that he has played as a single on Sunday the past two weeks, his only goal to finish in time for brunch. "I'm wrecked. I'm destroyed," he said. "Tiger is tired after two weeks? I've got him by 80 pounds and 17 years. How do you think I'm doing after (playing) eight out of nine? He could run from here to downtown. I couldn't run out of a burning house." Calcavecchia has been on tour so long that he played in the first Tour Championship in 1987. He tied for fifth and earned $68,800. Fifth place now is worth $280,000. He is still happy to be here, as are most players who always viewed the Tour Championship as a reward for a great season. Late afternoon thunderstorms brought concern for the greens, and the tour risks great embarrassment if their "Super Bowl" is played on a track that looks as though it hosted a tractor pull. But everyone plays the same course. And odds are in the tour's favor that the final FedEx Cup event will be as compelling as the other playoff events. Someone will be $10 million richer Sunday. Heck, everyone will be richer. Whether they're happy is up to them. Posted Sep 14 2007, 08:36 AM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, FedEx Cup

• Tiger Woods Secures 60th Career Win with Flawless 63

  Tiger Woods produced a flawless final round 63 to win his 60th career PGA Tour title by two shots at the BMW Championship on Sunday. The win moved Woods to the top of the FedExCup standings heading into the Tour Championships next week at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, which will be limited to the top 30 players. The $1.26 million winner's cheque pushed Woods's career earnings over $75 million. The 31-year-old American will have a chance to add what is being billed as sport's single biggest pay day next week in Atlanta where a $10 million bonus in deferred compensation will go to the overall points champion. Woods's 60th victory also left him just two behind Arnold Palmer for fourth on the all-time list. "I never, ever would have dreamt that this would happen so soon," Woods told reporters after becoming just the fifth player to record 60 PGA Tour wins. "I've been out here 11 years, my 12th season and to have this many wins...I never could have foreseen that. "I've exceeded my expectations and it's been a lot of fun to enjoy that whole process to get to 60." The world number one began the day trailing third round leaders American Steve Stricker and Australian Aaron Baddeley by a single shot but was quickly on the charge. A three-times winner at the Cog Hill Golf and Country Club, Woods picked up a shot at the third to join the leaders and shifted into top gear to reel off three consecutive birdies from the seventh. But Woods was unable to pull away as Stricker and Baddeley kept pace with 13-times major winner to leave all three men deadlocked with nine to play. Stricker and Baddeley, however, could not stay with Woods on the back nine as he kept the pressure on with four more birdies to match the course record 63, securing his sixth title of the season with a tournament record winning total of 22-under 262. Baddeley, who held a two-shot lead going into the final round of the U.S. Open, returned a five-under 66 to finish runner-up on 20-under 264 with Stricker (68) two strokes further adrift on 266. "I felt like I was playing good, so I felt like I could keep matching him," said Baddeley. "And Steve (Stricker) was playing great too and I was sort of feeding off him as well. "I feel like I did well this time in that I didn't lose the golf tournament, he (Woods) won it. "Shooting eight-under to win a golf tournament is a heck of a round." Australia's Adam Scott had a final round 65 to finish alone in fourth with South African Tim Clark (67) and Briton Justin Rose (68) tied for fifth on 13-under 271. Clark made a dramatic charge up the leaderboard on the front nine, mixing seven birdies with a bogey for a 29, matching the all-time lowest nine hole score in the championship's 104-year history. But the South African could not sustain the momentum, giving back two shots with a pair of bogeys after the turn. BMW Championship Scores 262 Tiger Woods 67 67 65 63 264 Aaron Baddeley (Aus) 68 65 65 66 266 Steve Stricker 68 66 64 68 270 Adam Scott (Aus) 69 69 67 65 271 Justin Rose (Eng) 65 69 69 68, Tim Clark (Rsa) 68 69 67 67 272 Camilo Villegas (Col) 65 69 71 67, Stewart Cink 66 73 68 65 274 Sergio Garcia (Spa) 68 70 69 67 275 Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 69 72 68 66, Ian Poulter (Eng) 68 72 69 66, Jonathan Byrd 64 69 71 71, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 71 68 69 67 276 Nathan Green (Aus) 67 71 67 71, Jim Furyk 70 69 67 70, Lucas Glover 70 71 67 68, Brandt Snedeker 70 71 65 70 277 Pat Perez 66 69 70 72, Ernie Els (Rsa) 73 67 68 69, Bo Van Pelt 69 71 68 69, David Toms 72 70 68 67, Bubba Watson 71 69 69 68, Ryan Moore 69 70 68 70, Charles Howell III 68 73 67 69 278 Charley Hoffman 68 70 72 68, Ryuji Imada (Jpn) 67 70 71 70, Kevin Sutherland 70 73 69 66, Stuart Appleby (Aus) 68 68 71 71, Mark Wilson 76 69 68 65 279 Vaughn Taylor 73 68 69 69, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 72 69 71 67, John Mallinger 74 68 69 68, Hunter Mahan 69 68 71 71, Luke Donald (Eng) 76 70 68 65, Brett Wetterich 68 72 71 68, Scott Verplank 69 70 70 70, Rocco Mediate 70 70 68 71 280 Rodney Pampling (Aus) 73 72 66 69, Zach Johnson 72 71 70 67, Billy Mayfair 72 69 67 72, Woody Austin 67 73 71 69, Robert Allenby (Aus) 75 68 69 68, Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 70 70 69 71, KJ Choi (Kor) 68 70 71 71, Stephen Ames (Can) 71 68 69 72 281 Heath Slocum 71 68 72 70 282 Kenny Perry 71 71 66 74, Troy Matteson 66 77 68 71 283 Jerry Kelly 74 72 68 69, Steve Marino 73 70 69 71, Brian Bateman 70 72 72 69 284 Anthony Kim 74 70 70 70, John Senden (Aus) 71 75 71 67, Ken Duke 67 73 71 73, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 75 71 68 70 285 John Rollins 69 71 74 71 286 Sean O'Hair 74 72 71 69, Boo Weekley 75 72 72 67 287 Nick Watney 72 73 72 70, Jose Coceres (Arg) 70 69 70 78 288 Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 78 73 68 69, Nick O'Hern (Aus) 70 73 74 71 289 Jeff Quinney 72 73 70 74 290 Vijay Singh (Fij) 74 69 77 70 297 Mark Calcavecchia 77 71 75 74 Posted Sep 10 2007, 08:35 AM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, Tiger Woods

• Phil Mickelson Tough To Interpret

  Phil Mickelson can be impulsive and unpredictable, reckless and rash, but always a topic of conversation. He is capable of making people turn their heads one minute and shake their heads the next. He's like that on the golf course, too. Mickelson left everyone scratching their heads during an 18-hour mystery tour in which he beat Tiger Woods in a riveting battle outside Boston; used a national television interview to air his complaints about PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem; showed up in Chicago for a corporate outing; and withdrew from the BMW Championship by saying he wasn't trying to send a message. "This decision was not an easy one to make," Mickelson said in a statement. It was even tougher to interpret. Mickelson had no intention of playing a third straight week in the PGA Tour Playoffs even before he teed it up Friday at the Deutsche Bank Championship, with Woods and Vijay Singh at his side. Perhaps one reason was his paltry record at Cog Hill, where he has never cracked the top 25 in 10 starts. Maybe he was starting to feel fatigued, knowing that a full schedule through the Presidents Cup would mean seven tournaments in nine weeks. Or he could have wanted to join Woods and Ernie Els by skipping one playoff event. All of those reasons would have been acceptable. Anyone who thinks this FedEx Cup finale isn't working because one player stays home hasn't been paying attention. These "playoffs" are bringing together a great collection of players and producing exciting golf. Through two weeks, there is no denying that. No one remembers that Woods skipped The Barclays. No one knew Els was missing last week at the Deutsche Bank. And the BMW Championship will get by just fine without Mickelson. For some reason, though, Mickelson wanted to make it personal. His two-shot victory while playing with Woods in the final round at the TPC Boston gave him a platform to celebrate his biggest victory this side of a major, and he elected to turn that into a soap box. Jimmy Roberts of NBC Sports, aware of the rumors that Mickelson might miss Chicago, asked him if would play. "I'm really torn, because I feel like there's an obligation for me to play," Mickelson said. "I'd be paired with Tiger again. I think it would be really great for the game and the tour and the FedEx Cup. Another part of me is really frustrated because for the past year, I've been asking the commissioner to do a couple of things, and I told him I would play the last four events, and he has not done that. "So I'm kind of torn." On one hand, he was quick to finger Finchem as the villain. But after griping that Finchem didn't live up to his end of the bargain, Mickelson left everyone guessing what kind of deal they had -- if they had one at all. When asked to elaborate, Mickelson went into "Family Affair" mode by mentioning he has a lot going on, from taking the kids to their first day of school Wednesday to going to their soccer games. In subsequent interviews, the closest he came to explaining his beef was when he said his frustration stemmed from "asking for a couple of things in the FedEx Cup that weren't done." Finchem did not respond. The tour released a statement Tuesday saying it was disappointed Mickelson would not be at Cog Hill, but it was looking forward to another exciting chapter in the playoffs. Lefty once was known as the guy who was 0-for-42 in the majors until winning the Masters. In his eyes, he's probably 0-for-20 when he goes to Finchem with a suggestion. Maybe that makes him the greatest player to never get his way on the PGA Tour. The suggestions range from simple to complex. Mickelson doesn't like that the $10 million payoff for the FedEx Cup champion is deferred -- and he's not alone on that point. He has argued that the tour should designate 20 tournaments a year in which the top players must compete, and he has never been a big fan of being required to play in pro-ams. He doesn't believe the tour should subsidize the purses at events opposite the World Golf Championships. Which issue became the trigger, only Mickelson knows. The surprise was the shot across the bow, especially considering how guarded Mickelson is when the lights come on. For a guy who fiercely protects a polished image, Mickelson risked that by taking a sucker punch at Finchem on national TV. His statement Tuesday didn't help, particularly when he said that withdrawing from Chicago "in no way is meant as disrespectful to the tour or 'sending a message' to anyone." Mickelson said he's looking for balance, and that his family has sacrificed a lot this year because it's been a very difficult schedule. But this is the same guy who said at the PGA Championship last month that he was excited for the FedEx Cup because of all the time he lost this summer with a wrist injury. It probably didn't help that when Mickelson announced he was pulling out of the BMW Championship, he was a half-hour away at Medinah Country Club playing in a corporate outing. The outing was planned long ago, but it didn't look good. Tournament director Jon Kaczkowski was asked how he felt about Mickelson being at Medinah and going home without stopping at Cog Hill. Although his answer was polite, it spoke volumes. "It's hard for me to interpret some of his thoughts," he said. Posted Sep 07 2007, 08:34 AM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, Phil Mickelson

• Phil Mickelson Holds Off Tiger Woods To Win By Two

  Phil Mickelson's return to Beantown was sweeter than he ever imagined. He was sitting in a suite at Fenway Park on Saturday night when Boston Red Sox rookie Clay Buchholz threw a no-hitter. And on a Labor Day finish that brought playoff atmosphere to the PGA Tour, Lefty pitched a gem of his own. With thousands of fans standing six-deep behind the greens, and hundreds more camped out in front of video boards, Mickelson blew away Tiger Woods with a flawless front nine and held him off down the stretch to win the Deutsche Bank Championship, a sign that Lefty is healthy enough to again challenge the world's No. 1 player. "I had a lot of fun -- not just today, this whole week," said Mickelson, who closed with a 5-under 66 for a two-shot victory Monday. "We went and saw the no-hitter in Fenway Park. How often does that happen?" More often than Mickelson going head-to-head in the final round against Woods and winning the tournament. That was a first. But the way he played all week, including the first two rounds with Woods and Vijay Singh, it might not be the last. "This is what we hoped the summer would be," swing coach Butch Harmon said from Las Vegas. "And if it hadn't have been for the hand injury, it would have been." It was the first victory for Mickelson since The Players Championship in May, when he looked ready to make another run at Woods. Then he injured his left wrist that cost him his summer, and only recently has Mickelson been able to swing without flinching. The pain on this Labor Day belonged to Woods. He couldn't make a putt on the front nine, and couldn't deliver enough clutch putts while trying to make up ground on the final holes. He wound up with a 67 despite taking 32 putts, which left him tied for second with Arron Oberholser (69) and Brett Wetterich (70), who played in the final group of what seemed like a Nationwide Tour gallery. The buzz outside Beantown was on the biggest names in golf, and Mickelson relished this victory. "For 10 years I've struggled against Tiger," Mickelson said. "This sure feels great to go head-to-head ... and over the last five or six holes when he's making a run, it was fun to match him with birdies." A snapshot of this sun-splashed afternoon on the TPC Boston could be summed up around the greens. Woods had eagle putts on four holes and played them 3 under. Mickelson didn't have any looks at eagle, but played those same four holes in 4 under. The pivotal shot, though, was an 8-iron to 6 feet on the 16th, after Woods had put his 8-iron 10 feet above the hole. Both made birdie, keeping Mickelson two shots ahead. He clinched it with a chip from deep round on the par-5 18th green to 4 feet for birdie, while Woods missed an eagle putt from some 35 feet away. "To be able to stand up on 16 after he knocked it close and follow it with a birdie of my own ... it feels terrific," Mickelson said. It was his first time in the Boston area since he celebrated a stunning Ryder Cup victory at Brookline. His return included a trip to Kennebunkport, Maine, for some golf and fishing with former President Bush, the no-hitter at Fenway and a big win against Woods. "It made for a very special, memorable week," Mickelson said. "I'm just so excited with the way it finished." Mickelson finished at 16-under 268 and earned $1.26 million, moving him atop the standings in the PGA Tour Playoffs. But after dispatching of Woods, Mickelson picked his next battle with PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem. He said he might not play next week outside Chicago at the BMW Championship, saying he owed it to the tour but that Finchem had not fulfilled some requests that Mickelson has made. "My frustration from this past year came from asking for a couple of things in the FedEx Cup that weren't done, and not feeling all that bad now if I happen to miss," he said. Pressed for details, he would not elaborate. If Mickelson were to play at Cog Hill, he might get more chances to play with Woods. That might be incentive enough the way Lefty handled him at the TPC Boston, staying ahead of him the first two rounds and playing his best when it mattered. Mickelson, who moved back to No. 2 in the world with his 32nd career victory, took only 23 putts in the final round and built a five-shot lead after 10 holes. Woods had ample opportunity to close the gap, especially when Mickelson took double bogey on the 12th hole, but he never got closer than two shots. Mickelson matched his birdie on the 16th to stay two ahead, Woods missed from 10 feet on the 17th, and Lefty effectively locked up the victory by blasting a 3-wood over the hazard and the green on 18th hole, then chipping to 4 feet. Woods' last hope was a 35-foot eagle, which never came close. "Unfortunately, I just didn't make enough putts to really push him," Woods said. Wetterich started the final round with a one-shot lead and didn't make a birdie until the 16th hole. His birdie on the last hole gave him enough points to move up 29 spots to No. 22, giving him an excellent shot at making the Tour Championship. Oberholser was within one shot of Mickelson most of the back nine, but he needed an eagle on the final hole to force a playoff, then missed a 10-foot birdie putt when the tournament was sealed. He moved up to No. 29 in the playoff standings; had he made the birdie putt, he would have gone to No. 20 and clinched a spot at East Lake for the Tour Championship. John Mallinger and Bo Van Pelt moved into the top 70 to advance to the third round next week in Chicago. Posted Sep 04 2007, 08:33 AM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson