The Loop

Watch Phil Mickelson's classic exchange with "1920s Reporter Guy" at Colonial

May 24, 2017

Phil Mickelson's win at Colonial in 2008 was memorable for a few reasons. To start, there was an incredibly daring and clutch approach shot through the trees on the final hole, a converted winning birdie putt, and a fan doing a cannonball into a pond as the ball disappeared into the hole. Here's a look back at one of the wildest finishes you'll ever see in a PGA Tour event:

But moments later, something else happened that Mickelson won't soon forget. Lefty was approached ambushed by a man pretending to be a sports reporter from the 1920s -- and the exchange became an instant classic. Check it out:

"Why are you yelling? You're a foot from me," Mickelson responds after being asked about using his "Billy Baroo" to win the tournament. Well, it turns out "Scoops Callahan" is actually Tom Gribble, a then sports radio producer for 1310 The Ticket turned current broadcaster for ESPN Dallas. And although he doesn't dress the part of a 1920s reporter with a fedora and a cigar hanging out of his mouth, his shtick involves that loud, old-timey radio voice and him addressing his subjects as "Champ."

Mickelson is far from the only athlete who has gotten the Scoops treatment through the years. Gribble's "victims" include LeBron James, Tom Brady, and Wayne Gretzky in a running prank that originated with him asking Gretzky about the officials during a post-game press conference in 2005.

"Champ, how do you think the zebras called the show? Were they the cat's meow, or did they give your boys the business?" So good.

Here's a collection of 1920s Reporter Guy's best moments:

But according to an ESPN story on Gribble in 2011, the man who has even gotten Bill Belichick to chuckle, calls his moment with Mickelson his favorite. And at this week's Dean & DeLuca Invitational, Mickelson will make his first start at Colonial since 2010. Let's hope the old tour pro and the old-fashioned reporter cross paths again.