LA QUINTA – Eighteen holes never seemed so long before.
But that was before Phil Mickelson’s two sports hernia surgeries, and before caddie Jim (Bones) McKay had the two knee replacements, both on Oct. 19.
Partners in and out of anesthesia, they walked the PGA West courses with fife and drum this week at the CareerBuilder Challenge, neither ready for a career finisher.
Mickelson will play Torrey Pines this week and the three tournaments after that, looking for his first win since the British Open in 2013.
“We’re both a little sore and tired,” Mickelson said. “I was surprised. I hadn’t worked a golf course in months. Certainly my feet are sore, but I’ll recover overnight.”
As rusty as he was with the driver and putter, especially on his 1-over-par back nine at the Stadium Course on Sunday, Mickelson’s steps were actually springy. He finished 21st here, at 11 under par, while the young and the winless duked it out behind him.
The champion was Hudson Swafford, 29, a 6-foot-3 Georgia Bulldog who hadn’t finished higher than eighth. He eagled 15 and birdied 16 and 17 to finish one shot ahead of Adam Hadwin, the Canadian who shot 59 at La Quinta on Saturday.
When Mickelson finished, he signed his usual autographs and posed for pictures with a disabled young man. “I think I have a souvenir for you,” he said, and fished out a golf glove. He looked his pro-am partners in the eye from Thursday through Saturday, and mined them for info on the business world. He always does that, always makes eye contact as strangers urge him on.
Social graces cost nothing. Maybe they persuade a fan to come out to the next tournament.
Mickelson turns 47 in June. His birthday is always during the U.S. Open, the only big fish he hasn’t hooked, as a six-time runner-up. Blessed with good ligaments and levers, Mickelson has dodged injury and slumps for 26 years. And last year wasn’t bad, with a 2-1-1 run at the Ryder Cup and an 17-under finish at the British Open, which beat everyone but Henrik Stenson.
But the numbers won’t define Mickelson, whenever he’s done. He is the modern Arnold Palmer, with the most faithful and plaintive fan base.
A plurality of the fans here Sunday followed Mickelson, although he was in no danger of winning. They groaned when he got swallowed by the bunkers and when his putts came up short. But they knew they might see a card trick at any second.
Palmer won this tournament five times. Back then it was the Bob Hope Desert Classic, with hot TV ratings, especially from snowbound locations back East. Celebrities, real ones, played alongside the pros, and Hope himself had his throne at the 72nd hole.
Since then the tournament has gone through musical sponsors, and it gets drowned out by the AFC and NFC championship games. Top players routinely skip it for Torrey Pines next week, or play for funny money at Abu Dhabi. An event like this yearns for Mickelson, and he often comes through.
Afterward, Mickelson praised the sponsors and called it a “special week,” even though most people spent the week studying Doppler radar.
But Mickelson has had a few PR shanks in recent years. He had to pay back $1 million of stock gains when he was named in an insider trading suit, although he was a “relief defendant” and cleared of criminal wrongdoing.
That happened a few years after he complained, at this tournament, about his heavy personal tax burden and threatened to move from San Diego. At his next opportunity, Mickelson called that “a dumb, dumb mistake,” comparable to throwing away the 2006 U.S. Open.
Mickelson also threw Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson under a whole fleet of buses when the U.S. was blown out in 2014. He never backed off that one, and clearly felt vindicated when the Americans took back the Cup last year.
“I’ve been inside the team room,” he said Sunday, “and when you say to the guys, ‘You need to play better,’ that is the most uninformed and ludicrous statement I’ve ever heard.
“Would you show up at the Masters with a new ball for the week on Tuesday? You would be an idiot to do that. We had some great leadership this time (with Davis Love III) because all the variables were eliminated weeks in advance.. When you’re worried about ancillary things, you’re not going to play well, it’s that simple.”
Mickelson is still the variable, whenever he plays. Maybe he’ll realize the walking is softer on the short grass. Or maybe not.
Contact the writer: mwhicker@scng.com
