Uncalled For
PGA Championship 2021: Jon Rahm took an all-time pot shot at Phil Mickelson in his post-round presser
Two weeks ago to the day, Joel Dahmen learned a very hard lesson - don't poke the bear, especially when that bear is five-time major chamion Phil Mickelson. After Dahmen hit him with a playful jab on Twitter, Lefty went out and dusted him by four on Thursday at Quail Hollow, a much-needed FIGJAM moment that we hadn't seen in ages.
Unfortunately for Phil, Dahmen got the last laugh, finishing T-18 at Wells Fargo while Mickelson fell to solo 69th. Still, the point was taken by Dahmen. Come at the trash talk king, you best not miss* (*on Thursday at Quail Hollow).
Jon Rahm must have not paid attention to Dahmen's little mishap that week, because he came after his buddy Phil on Thursday evening at Kiawah Island in similar, out-of-nowhere fashion. Following Rahm's first-round 72, he was asked to describe the conditions he had just faced on a marathon day in South Carolina. That provided him with an opportunity to take an all-time pot shot at Mickelson.
"It's difficult, man," said Rahm. "I mean, technically I would say starting on 1 might be a little easier because you start with four holes into the wind that you can manage and then you get 5 through 13 downwind where you can maybe get some scores going, right.
"At the same time, you also finish with five really, really difficult holes, but by that point you might have even gotten some confidence in the swing and you can finish it strong. Hey, Phil shot 4-under on the back nine so anything is possible."
Ummm, what the f&%@.... is what I would say if I were Mickelson and I came across that quote. Actually, he did, and his response was much tamer:
Just to be clear, there is a 99.9-percent chance what Rahm said was completely in jest, a little Sun Devil on Sun Devil crime. Phil knows that, but don't think for a second that his No. 1 objective on Friday is to beat the ever-living crap out of his young padawan. By the way, Mickelson posted a two-under 70 on Thursday (two better than Rahm but who's counting), which has him just three back. Recent history would tell us that Mickelson will likely end up in a tie for 56th by week's end, but Rahm just gave him all the extra motivation he needed to change that narrative.