Capelle On Golf

Phil Mickelson was a heavy crowd favorite at the 2002 US Open at Bethpage.

Now, seven years and two more Open heartbreakers later, Mickelson figures to have an even bigger part of the New York throng in his camp because of wife Amy’s battle with cancer.

Mickelson will turn 39 on Tuesday, so his chances of adding to his legacy in the majors are dwindling rapidly. It is also possible that his tragic loss at Winged Foot created so much emotional scar tissue that he no longer has what it takes to win the big ones, much like Arnold Palmer after he blew the 1966 US Open.

Still, Mickelson, though never a consistent performer, can’t be counted out. In 10 starts this season he’s won twice, finished in the top 10 three more times, but has five finishes of 42t or worse. So far this week, he looks to be having one of those off events, but he could bounce right back to contend at the Open as he did early this year when he won the Northern Trust after finishing 55t the week before.

His biggest challenge at the Open will come from Tiger Woods, who may play inconsistently by his standards, but you’d never know it by looking at the leaderboard. Other than the Match Play, Tiger’s won twice this year and been in the top 10 in his other four appearances.

Furthermore, he has made it a habit of contending in the majors in the Haney Era. In his last 15 majors he’s finished in the top 6 in 13 of them! (In a similar period in his career, Jack Nicklaus also recorded 13 top 6s in 15 starts from the 1970 British Open through the 1974 Masters.)

So, it is easy to assume that Tiger will be in the hunt come Sunday afternoon, and Mickelson could be. And if he and Tiger are in the last pairing, you can be sure that the crowd will be his 15th club, and one that could spell the difference.

The number 15 also applies to Tiger as that’s the major he’s gunning for. But now that he’s healed and got his game back, there will be plenty of time for the 33 year old to wins numbers 15-19+.

For now, if they are both contending on Sunday and the golf gods are at all just, they will smile on Mickelson. He’s due, and they owe him one. A win amidst the turmoil of his wife’s fight for her life would be golf’s story of the year.

Besides, one of golf’s most tortured performers won’t have long to bask in the glory of a victory because he knows the most important victory will come only when Amy returns to good health.