Phil Mickelson Faced The Music And He Wasn’t The Phil We Used To See

The bearded, bedraggled, tired-looking 50-something guy that took the podium at The Country Club and faced the gathered media for the first time since his self-imposed exile, wasn’t quite the Phil Mickelson everyone used to know.

No, this was Phil Mickelson showing up for the first time as an employee of the sinister Saudi Arabian Government.

Mickelson used to be smiling, engaging and had a way of conducting court at his meetings with the media.  He was fast on his feet, witty and feared no questions.

But something was so very different on Monday of the 122nd United States Open Championship.

Mickelson looked like a part-player in a remake of Goodfellas.  He looked like a guy unsure of himself, guarded and annoyed by a lot of questions.  For a guy who used to act like the smartest guy in the room, Mickelson portrayed himself as confused when asked multiple questions by the same writer.

Mickelson was unable to articulate exactly what the LIV Series is, nor could he articulate what it is exactly that the Saudis are doing to grow the game of golf.

In other words, it was a tough, uncomfortable situation for Mickelson and, given his horrible (10-over-par) performance in the LIV opener, the real question should have been — Phil what exactly are you doing here?

Brandel Chamblee didn’t hesitate to answer that for Mickelson:  “He’s here to sell the lie.  Get out there, give the thumbs up, smile and basically be a PR guy for them,” said Chamblee, basically calling Mickelson something akin to a stooge for the Saudis and a sell-out for the money.

Mickelson had 28 questions thrown at him.  Phil got a bit snippy at times but avoided any hint of anger.  There were no detailed explanations, no justification for his defection to the LIV.

A USA Today reporter asked about the letter that the families of 9/11 victims had sent to Mickelson and the other boldfaced names who had bolted for the Saudi-backed league. As she was getting into her question, Mickelson cut her off:

“I’ve read all that – is there a question in there?” Mickelson asked.  “Yes, there is,” she said. “How do you explain to them what you have done?”

“I have deep, deep empathy for them,” Mickelson said. “I can’t emphasize that enough. I have the deepest of sympathy and empathy for them.”

But that’s all he had.  He said he had empathy but his actions don’t back up that claim.

At the end of the session, Mickelson accomplished little.  He kept emphasizing that he’s a life member of the PGA Tour.  “And I worked hard to get there,” Mickelson said more than once.

So now he’ll practice and wait for his Thursday afternoon tee time at 1:47 when he and fellow LIV defector Louie Oosthuizen will sandwich Ireland’s Shane Lowry.

And biggest question of all — how will these Boston fans react to Mickelson?

Stay tuned on that one.

Bryson Calls His Defection:  “A Business Decision:”

Interestingly, Bryson DeChambeau, a winner of the U.S. Open in 2020,  was not in the media room on Monday.  But Todd Lewis from The Golf Channel caught up with DeChambeau, who like Mickelson, is now an employee of the Saudi Arabian Government.

The words that kept coming from DeChambeau were:  “business decision.”

It was a business decision, first and foremost.  “That’s all there was to it. It’s given me a lot more opportunities outside of the game of golf and given me more time with my family and my future family. So for me, that was the decision.  There was a lot of financials to it and a lot of time,” he said. “I get to have a life outside of the game of golf as well.”

DeChambeau says he has plans to create a multisport complex (with a charter school attached) in Dallas, where he hopes to have a place for long drivers to hone their craft, with an eye on potentially hosting the World Long Drive Championship.

Like Mickelson, DeChambeau has not resigned his PGA Tour membership and has not been suspended as he hasn’t actually played in an LIV event.

His future?

“It’s not my decision to make,” DeChambeau said. “That’s someone else’s decision that’s making that for me.  What’s gone on has not been great,” he said, “but they’re moving in the right decision from what I can see and what we’ve had conversations about.”

After making what he called a “very difficult” decision that he’s been grappling with for years, DeChambeau said that he believes that “a lot of good will eventually come out of this.”

“At the end of the day,” he said, “it was a business decision for my family’s future, and it gave me a lot of free time, so it cleared a lot of things up for me.”

So like Mickelson, DeChambeau said a lot without saying much at all.