Backyard Shots

“Mickelson was 247 yards away, some 10 yards behind the plaque in the fairway that commemorated the 1-iron Jack Nicklaus hit to the green in 1967 to win the U.S. Open. He tapped it twice with his 4-wood for luck, but the shot came up short in grass that covered the tops of his shoes.

The flop came out perfect, and Mickelson raised his arms and lightly pumped his fist twice. The final putt was merely a tap-in, giving Lefty another year with a major trophy.

“It was a shot that I struggled with out of the rough this week,” Mickelson said. “I tried to remember some of the shots I hit as a kid in my backyard. I hit it aggressively, and the ball popped up nicely, and it rolled smoothly.”

He joined Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo and Curtis Strange as the only players in the last 20 years to win majors in consecutive years.”

To hear a professional golfer cast aside decades of work and top of the line golf instruction for a childhood memory while shooting the final hole of the PGA Tournament is just hilarious. I bet whoever is currently coaching Phil with his swing has got to be wondering what the hell he’s doing to earn his money this morning.