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The Grind: Phil Mickelson's second career, DJ's distractions, and Pebble predictions

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:47:00 GMT

It was a good week for Phil Mickelson -- and for his sponsors.

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where unlike the Super Bowl, we promise to never leave you in the dark. Speaking of lights out, how about the play of Phil Mickelson at the Waste Management Phoenix Open? Of course, he was also the talk of the golf world early last season before doing his best impression of a typical small-market baseball team and disappearing for most of the spring/summer. But for now, we'll focus on the positives. . .

WE'RE BUYING

Phil Mickelson as a pitchman. Forget about the incredible on-course display he put on at TPC Scottsdale, how about the performances he put on hocking his new Callaway driver? Lefty kissed the club at one point, referred to his newest toy as a "dream" and turned his post-round interviews into commercials for the equipment giant. It worked, with the company's SVP of marketing, Harrry Arnett, reporting the "Biggest traffic weekend in our history & most drivers we've ever sold in 1 day on Saturday...beaten on Sunday" on Twitter. The guy could probably sell you subscriptions to 10 magazines you don't want if he showed up on your doorstep.

TPC Scottsdale's 16h hole. Padraig Harrington punted footballs into the stands, caddies risked bodily harm trying to win footraces, and James Hahn performed a rendition of the "Gangnam Style" dance that would even have impressed its creator, South Korean entertainer Psy. What will the most raucous crowd in golf provide for an encore? It's a shame we have to wait 12 months to find out.

Scott Piercy. Phil's near-59 is so last Thursday. How about Scotty P.'s 61? The 34-year-old's 10 birdie performance forced NBC to show a little of his final round. However, this isn't a fluke. Piercy played in last year's Tour Championship to cap a season in which he finished in the top 25 in half of the 28 events he entered, while earning his second PGA Tour title at the RBC Canadian Open.

WE'RE SELLING

Lipouts. We get it, lipouts are part of the game. But that doesn't mean we can't complain about them. And not just when they happen to Hall of Famers trying to make history. Those late-round rim outs are just as painful to us hacks trying to break 80/90/100. Lipouts are the ultimate on-course dagger.

"Morning Drive" dramatics. After two years, the Golf Channel's daily morning show packed up and moved down the hallway to another studio. The nice, new digs are reason to celebrate, but why the crew had to act like they were turning off the lights at Cheers for the last time is beyond me.

Vijay Singh. Does deer-antler spray even work? It sounds like some sort of hocus-pocus remedy "doctors" from the 13th century would have prescribed. Regardless, it contains one of the PGA Tour's banned substances. Sorry, Vijay, you deserve to be punished for breaking the rules. I mean, without rules, we're no better than animals. You know, like deer. . .

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads back to California for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. The tournament rotates among Pebble Beach GL (Is the "GL" for "glorious"? Because it should be), Spyglass Hill GC and Monterey Peninsula CC the first three days before Sunday's final round at Pebble.

Random tournament fact: Last year, Phil Mickelson and Jim "Bones" Mackay set an unofficial record for the most talking/strategizing between a player and caddie on their way to a big win, capped by a final-round 64. Our favorite moment? When the two discussed at length on the 18th hole whether a 3-wood would fly farther than a driver with a certain amount of tailwind.

WEEKLY YAHOO! FANTASY LINEUP

Well, you've got to go with Bill Murray, a winner with D.A. Points in 2011, of course, and I'm hearing that Ray Romano has really been working on his short game. Oh, we're not making picks for the big pro-am? Let's try again then:

Starters -- (A-List): Phil Mickelson. We learned our lesson early last season when Mickelson won here and then nearly won again the next week at Riviera, before not doing much the rest of the year. When Lefty is hot, you ride him. And if he falters, we always have Mr. Bridesmaid, Brandt Snedeker to fall back on.

(B-List): Dustin Johnson. Potential Paulina Gretzky distractions (above) aside, DJ has two wins, a T-5 and a T-7 in five appearances in this event. Not too shabby. Kind of like his recent string of Instagram pics featuring his girlfriend. . .

(B-List): Aaron Baddeley. The Aussie has a solo fourth and a T-6 here the past two years, and is playing well, as evidenced by his recent T-6 at the Farmers Insurance Open.

(C-List): Billy Horschel. The 26-year-old has the second-longest consecutive cuts streak on the PGA Tour right now. It's almost enough to forgive him for that camouflage pullover he wore while playing with Tiger at Torrey Pines a couple weeks ago.

Bench -- Brandt Snedeker, Hunter Mahan, Webb Simpson and Robert Garrigus.

Pro-Am Note: Matt Cain and Justin Verlander, the two starters of the 2012 MLB All-Star game are both participating. Cain also tossed a perfect game in 2012 and his Giants nipped Verlander's Tigers in the World Series, but it's the Detroit flamethrower who has been linked to supermodel Kate Upton (left, as if you needed to be told who Kate Upton is). We'll call it a push.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

-- Microphones will pick up Phil Mickelson discussing the wind in terms of knots: 1-to-5 odds

-- Win or lose, Bill Murray will dance: LOCK.

-- Paulina Gretzky will find her way into this column again in 2013: Also a LOCK.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Could it be anything other than James Hahn's "Gangnam Style" dance following a birdie on TPC Scottsdale's 16th hole on Sunday? The rookie's extended version of the move earned him a lot of new fans, or at least, a few more people who have actually heard of him now. Enjoy:

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

This is a picture of Sergio Garcia's girlfriend, Nicole Horrex, following him during last week's Dubai Desert Classic. Sergio may claim to be cursed by the golf gods, but we're finding it hard to be sympathetic.

CELEBRITY/ATHLETE WE'D LIKE TO PLAY GOLF WITH

Anyone not named Ray Lewis. The Baltimore Ravens linebacker has to be the most tiresome figure in all of sports. At least I won't ever have to see or hear this guy again with him retiring following his team's Super Bowl win. Oh wait, now he's a lock to be hired as a football analyst for an exorbitant amount of money? Isn't it great when good things happen to good people?

OBVIOUS QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"I feel like I keep running into Hall of Famers," said Brandt Snedeker after finishing runner-up for a second-straight week. Gee, do you think? Then again, we can't blame him for being a little deflated. After all, he shot 64-66-65-65 and lost by FOUR shots.

THIS AND THAT

Karrie Webb won the Australian Masters for a Tiger-like eighth time. . . . The new $8.5 million event in South Africa has already been postponed. What a shocker. . . . I took a trip to Atlantic City, aka Dagger City, this weekend and miraculously managed to leave ahead. Yes, those chips (left) are proof of my "big" winnings. No, I'm not one of the Tropicana's high rollers.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Why can't you gamble on sports when you're in Atlantic City?

Beyonce was great, but will we ever see a Super Bowl halftime show "wardrobe malfunction" again?

Tiger and Phil just won in back-to-back weeks. Do we really have to wait another two-plus months for the Masters?

-- Alex Myers is a contributing editor for GolfDigest.com. Feel free to email him and please follow him on Twitter since he has self-esteem issues.

The Grind: Tiger's Torrey triumph, a Super Bowl dilemma & Phoenix Open picks

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:50:00 GMT

Editor's note: GolfDigest.com's new weekly column looks back at the week in golf (and beyond), and ahead to the next event.

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we feel bad for Tiger Woods. And before you say "Give me a break," let's examine: The guy triumphs in a PGA Tour event by FOUR shots and most people focus on either his shaky finish; or the fact that he always plays well on that course so it's no big deal; or that it's still not a major championship; or that he didn't win while simultaneously solving the world's energy crisis. Oh, wait, he made a million bucks to play good golf a week after he made $3 million to play some bad golf? OK, we don't feel too bad for him anymore. . .

WE'RE BUYING

Tiger Woods. Sure, he hit the ball all over La Jolla during the final round, but there were still plenty of signs of vintage Tiger. Like in years past, he pulled away from the field (at least at one point) and he also dominated the par 5s. On Torrey Pines' longest holes, he made an eagle each of the first two days (he only made four on the PGA Tour during all of 2012), and he finished at 12-under par for the week. Last year, he came up short on our prediction of four wins and a major, but to make up for that, we're saying he'll win five and two in 2013. In other words (again), yes (for the 227th time in the past three years), he's back (we think).

The PGA Show. Easy on the eyes, nice figures and dressed to impressed -- and those are just the booth girls pitching the products! One of these days, I'm going to have to get down to Orlando to see, the um, sights. In the meantime, I'll have to settle for former colleague Matt Ginella's collection of photos from last year's show.

Rickie Fowler. What makes a T-6 at a PGA Tour event even better? When you do it after shooting a 77 in the opening round. Fowler displayed a lot of grit (not always his strong suit) in not mailing it in after Thursday and winded up having a week that could really get his 2013 season going. Perhaps even more importantly, his second-round 65 proved that he can play better than a six-handicapper when paired with Tiger Woods. And definitely more importantly, his efforts were appreciated by fantasy owners who forgot to check their lineups and left him in after Day 1. . .

WE'RE SELLING

PGA Tour's Shot Link. Even for people fortunate enough to work at a golf magazine and have a giant TV above their heads in the office, there is a lot of tournament action that isn't televised. During those times, those people need the PGA Tour's system of tracking players to feed their need for golf. On Thursday and Friday, this system was down for a second-straight week. UNACCEPTABLE!

Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn. No sooner do we joke about the incredible lack of Tiger relationship news do rumors of him and the Olympic skier surface. Still, we need more evidence before we start with the "Tiger and Lindsey sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G" -- especially since there is a record of Vonn taking a jab at Woods' sex addiction a few years ago. Last time we checked, Tiger isn't one to forgive even the slightest of slights. If Lindsey is in the gallery at Augusta National in April, then we'll talk.

Brandt Snedeker changing his putting stroke. The reigning FedEx Cup champ kept on rolling with a T-2 at Torrey, but he looked unusually shaky on the greens after Thursday, including a three-putt from about four feet during Friday's 75. During Sunday's telecast, Ian Baker-Finch noted that for some strange reason Snedeker had made a change in his technique, going with a quicker backstroke to give his putts a little more pop. Pssst, Brandt, you're the best putter in the world. . .

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads to TPC Scottsdale for the annual fan boozefest known as the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Last year, Spencer Levin looked a little woozy himself after blowing a seven-shot lead on Sunday.

Random tournament fact: Andrew Magee made the only known hole-in-one on a par 4 in PGA Tour history here on the 332-yard 17th in 2001. Wait, Andrew Magee hit a ball 332 yards? Was he using a conforming driver?

WEEKLY YAHOO! FANTASY LINEUP

Big week last week, with Tiger Woods, Nick Watney and Rickie Fowler all finishing in the top six, and our other selection, Hunter Mahan, finishing a respectable T-15. Let's keep the momentum going with this motley crew:

Starters -- (A-List): Bubba Watson. After a rough start to the season with the flu, Watson will be chomping at the bit to get out there and play. He finished T-5 last year at TPC Scottsdale, a course known for being friendly to bombers off the tee.

(B-List): J.B. Holmes. One of our sleepers to watch in 2013, this has been the best tournament to watch the Kentuckian at for his entire career. Holmes' two career PGA Tour titles both came at TPC Scottsdale.

(B-List): Bo Van Pelt. If you looked up "due for a win" in the dictionary, BVP's picture would be right there. He's our pick to take home the trophy.

(C-List): Rickie Fowler. As mentioned, we loved the fight Fowler showed at Torrey Pines. No reason he won't carry it over this week at a place he finished runner-up in 2010.

Bench -- Brandt Snedeker, Ben Crane, Hunter Mahan, and Robert Garrigus.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

-- If John Harbaugh's Ravens win the Super Bowl, he'll give younger brother Jim a wedgie after the game: 50-to-1 odds

-- An inebriated fan will come out of the stands on TPC Scottsdale's famous 16th hole and hit a shot: 10-to-1 odds

-- Phil Mickelson will make an actual Super Bowl prop bet: LOCK.

FREE SUPER BOWL PREDICTION

I've gone back and forth a lot on this one, not just on which team I think will win, but which team I will root for. Jim Harbaugh seems like a jerk. John Harbaugh seems cool. I'm sick of Ray Lewis, but I love Ray Rice, who I had the pleasure of covering while he was in high school. On the other hand, I'm not a big Joe Flacco guy, but he's impressed me a lot during the playoffs. Tough call. What do you do with a tough call? Take Baltimore and the points (3.5) and root for a tight game. San Francisco wins 23-20.

PHOTO(S) OF THE WEEK

Natalie Gulbis tweeting photos of her yoga routine? Yes, please. There are a lot of people who I often wonder why I bother following on Twitter. Gulbis is one of those people. But from time to time, she provides self photos like these and I remember why I began following her in the first place.

CELEBRITY/ATHLETE WE'D LIKE TO PLAY GOLF WITH

Jim Nantz. I'm not the biggest Nantz fan around, but I've warmed up to him a little in recent years with his guest appearance on "How I Met Your Mother" and that commercial where he makes fun of the guy being stuck at a department store with his girlfriend. I'd like to ask the man who goes from covering the Super Bowl, to March Madness, to the Masters, what it's like to be the luckiest man in the world. Oh yeah, he's a member at some pretty swanky clubs, so we'd probably play somewhere decent.

VIRAL VIDEO(S) OF THE WEEK

Is this 17-month-old left-handed prodigy the next Bubba Watson?

That's some pretty freaky hand-eye-coordination. And why didn't that dude sitting on the stairs move? Talk about being in the line of fire. Upon further inspection, we realize this video was uploaded three years ago, leading to the obvious question: where is this kid now?!

And in honor of the fact that a lot of adult beverages will be consumed this week at TPC Scottsdale, check out this video involving the combination of alcohol and golf:

THIS AND THAT

Winged Foot will get the 2020 U.S. Open. It's probably the last place Phil Mickelson would want to celebrate his 50th birthday that week. . . . Chris Wood won his first European Tour title by making eagle on the final hole of regulation at the Qatar Masters. This will not be the last time in 2013 that Sergio Garcia, who finished runner-up, will curse the golf gods. . . . The NBA's New Orleans Hornets announced they will officially change their team name to the Pelicans in 2014. For a guy who went to perhaps the only high school (Pelham, N.Y.) in the country with that mascot, the news brought me a lot of pride. . . . Speaking of Pelham, while my former high school teachers toiled in freezing temperatures, I was in Orlando helping to test golf balls (above). They must be so proud of their former student. . .

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

What's the oldest you can be while still being considered a prodigy?

If Tiger could have played 36 holes on Sunday, would he have changed into a red shirt for the final 18? And would he have done it in Clark Kent-like fashion, perhaps transforming in an on-course port-o-potty?

Does Natalie Gulbis offer private yoga classes?

-- Alex Myers is a contributing editor for GolfDigest.com. Feel free to email him and please follow him on Twitter since he has self-esteem issues.

Will Wilson look this morning?

Roger Schiffman — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 15:23:00 GMT

Just as Christina Aguilera should have looked at the lyrics of the National Anthem on a cheat sheet at yesterday's Super Bowl, you might think that Mark Wilson will be examining the leader board this...

The FBR Open Preps For Super Sunday

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:48:00 GMT

When the Arizona Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 32-25, Sunday night in the NFC Championship game to advance to their first Super Bowl on Feb. 1, it made John Felix's life a bit more difficult. Felix is the tournament chairman for the FBR Open at the TPC Scottsdale, which ends that afternoon. "I'm a lot busier than I was yesterday," Felix said Monday. "It starts to feel like last year, but it's different. We're scrambling all around to help make this as much a normal celebration of golf that it usually is... and now make it a celebration of the Cardinals."

In 2008 the Super Bowl between the New York Giants and New England Patriots was held in nearby Glendale, and the tournament took on the enormous logistical task of making sure everyone who wanted to attend both events was able to do so. This year's football game will be held in Florida, but local rooting interest for the Cardinals, as they prepare for their first NFL title since they were based in Chicago in the 1940s, presents a different set of challenges for the tournament organizers.

Felix said the Thunderbirds, the group that runs the FBR Open is discussing how to incorporate the Cardinals colors into the outfits the volunteers wear during tournament week. He also said there will be plenty of signage to remind fans -- as if they'll need a reminder -- that the Cardinals will play the Pittsburgh Steelers about 30 minutes after the golf tournament ends. Felix has already begun calling the Coors Light Bird's Nest, the popular entertainment center located across from the course by a different name. "This is Cardinals week," he said. "It's the Coors Light Redbird's Nest."

The Cardinals advancing to the Super Bowl should make the normally boisterous crowds around the TPC Scottsdale's 16th hole even louder. "We don't need much to get our crowd excited," Felix said. "Now they'll be more excited. We'll hopefully be providing some great viewing opportunities. If we can get through some logistical issues [we'll have] some central viewing areas.

"The community is in a really upbeat mood," Felix said. "Everybody is beside themselves. Around here, how do you not love Kurt Warner? How do you not love Larry Fitzgerald? Or Anquan Boldin, with all that he has been through. This team is such a great story."

--John Antonini

Always By My Side

Jim Nantz With Eli Spielman — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Jim Nantz on golf, life and lessons from his father's battle with Alzheimer's

Does He Look Warm?

Bob Verdi — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Frost delays at the FBR, long sleeves and sweaters at the Buick...Why are we freezing when Florida is warm?

PGA Tour, NFL share roaring success stories

Bob Verdi — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Played in the Super Bowl's shadow, the FBR Open did just fine.

A Real Crowd-Pleaser

Bob Verdi — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The FBR Open delivers huge galleries, a little player unrest and a mighty 'Super' finish: J.B. Holmes playoff victory over Phil Mickelson.