Phil Mickelson entered a packed room of about 60 reporters Wednesday at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. He then read the following pre-prepared statement:
"The first is obviously the Tiger, uh, topic," Mickelson said. "The game of golf needs him to come back. I mean it's important for him to come back and be a part of the sport, but right now he's got a lot more important things going on in his life. And Amy and I are good friends with both Tiger and Elin and we care deeply about how this turns out, but I'm going to choose not to talk about it publicly anymore, and I appreciate you guys' understanding on that."
Asked why he, like others, has been reluctant to talk about Woods, Mickelson responded:
"Well, again, I don't want to talk about it publicly for the reason that we're friends and we have a personal relationship, and I just don't feel--I feel like it's a violation of our trust and our relationship."
Mickelson did allow that he and his wife, Amy, have had "limited communication" with the Woods family, although "not necessary saying with who in the family."
Asked to comment on the coverage of the Woods scandal, Mickelson threw it back to his questioners.
"As far as the media exposure or coverage, I think it's more of a question for you," he said. "That's your industry. That's what you guys do for a living. How do you feel it was covered? I don't know. That's more of a question for you guys."
Lee Trevino thinks it's time he gave Tiger a lesson. Pretty Hilarius. Butch Harmon wasn't cutting it, but maybe Trevino can give the best player of all time some tee shot instruction.
"Tiger needs to learn how to hit a power fade"
"Haney knows what he's doing," Trevino said. "He's helped Tiger a lot, but I'd like to sit down and have a session with Haney 'cause it looks like Tiger doesn't want me to help him. I'd teach him a power fade, a go-to shot. Everyone has to have a go-to shot. He used to win majors with his stinger go-to shot. Last week he didn't even look comfortable with a 3-wood on the tee; he was scared, trying to guide the ball."
Tiger made it official. He will play in the Accenture Match Play Championship beginning Wednesday in Tucson, Arizona. His first opponent is Brendan Jones, # 64 in the world rankings. Stuart Appleby remarked, "he was ready weeks ago. I don't think he needs to do a couple a laps around the track. He'll be on that horse whipping it." Those comments don't bode well for Brendan. As Lee Trevino would say, "move over and let the big dog eat!"
Recently Mark O'Meara, one of Tiger's closest confidants and mentor, stated that "Tiger was hitting the ball better than ever" and that he would probably come back at the Accenture Match Play Championships. This seemed to be confirmed by his caddie, Stevie Williams, who proclaimed that Tiger was "a few weeks away" from returning to tournament golf. "He's probably 95% there." He's been rehabbing his knee 6 hours a day according to Stevie. In any event when he does return, expect the interest level and ratings to be off the charts!
Phil Mickelson entered a packed room of about 60 reporters Wednesday at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. He then read the following pre-prepared statement:
