Did Phil Mickelson just pull one over on us?
Did we really just see Phil Mickelson jog across the 13th green at the recent U.S. Open Golf Championship and slap-check his still rolling ball before it could run off the green? I’d like to say no, but I’m pretty sure I’ll never be able to un-see that stunt.
Why should we even care?
This is a professional sport after all, and we expect our sports heroes to do whatever it takes to win. Or, if you don’t buy into that creed, you could go with Phil’s explanation that he was just having fun out there, and then he “moved on.” La, la, la, LOL. But the game of golf and its players famously pride themselves on a more ethical standard of professionalism than other sports.
Phil admitted that he gamed the system by intentionally breaking a rule to get a competitive advantage. In spite of his comments to the contrary, it looks a lot like Phil disrespected the game and his fellow competitors.
Legacy of a champion?
Don’t get me wrong. I’ve been a Phil fan for many years. He’s an amazingly talented golfer, and a very human one, with as many heartbreaks as triumphs. He’s already in the World Golf Hall of Fame, and has won five major championships and 43 PGA tour events. He is also one of the most popular professional golfers ever, bending-over-backwards-friendly to his fans.
But now when fans remember Phil, they’ll remember how he flipped off the integrity of the game, smiling that goofy smile the whole time.
A lapse in judgement?
In the wake of the incident, Phil’s wife Amy stuck up for her man, saying “he’s a good man who had a bad moment.”
I would like to believe her. We all have bad moments, and we all need second chances.
Phil, in his own words however, seemed to disagree, saying “I’ve had multiple times where I’ve wanted to do that. I just finally did.”
What violation?
Again, using Phil’s word, when he saw his ball rolling toward the edge of the green and more trouble beyond, he made a “strategic” decision that it would be better to violate the rule against stroking a ball in motion, taking the two shot penalty that goes with it, than to risk losing more strokes if he let the ball go.
To be fair, there is a long tradition of professional golfers taking full advantage of all the rules will allow. Who can forget Tiger Woods getting members of the gallery to remove a boulder-sized “loose impediment” from in front of his golf ball at the 1999 Phoenix Open?
However, Justin Leonard, commentator and former golf pro said “Phil didn’t use the rules, he broke them.” Leonard also stated that in his opinion Phil should have been disqualified from the tournament. Personally, I care more about whether Phil, and Tiger before him, respected the spirit of the game.
Who’s in favor of more laid-back golf rules?
For my money, if you agree to play mulligans with your buddies, you get a guilt-free pass. Get out there and enjoy the game!
But I also love the traditions and rules of the game, and I love it when a pro has the integrity to call a penalty on herself or himself when she or he accidentally breaks a rule. Just as the pros entertain and inspire me with their skill, they also inspire me when they play the game with integrity.
R.I.P.
I’m sorry Phil Mickelson does not see this. I would love for him to do better than say “if I offended anyone I’m sorry, I didn’t mean disrespect by anybody.” If he doesn’t want this incident to leave a lasting stain on his great career, then let him publicly own up to the lack of respect he showed, ask his fans for forgiveness, then “move on.”
