The Slaughter at Shinnecock … or why Phil Mickelson was right
As far as Phil Mickelson is concerned, the GA in USGA probably stands for “god-awful.” In his putting protest against course conditions in round three of this year’s men’s U.S. Open (run by the United States Golf Association), Mickelson pitted his sterling reputation against the prestige of the USGA.
It was a pyrrhic victory for the 48-year-old star who was trying to add a U.S. Open title at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club before his best days are done. In hitting a putt on the 13th hole on Saturday before the previous one stopped moving, Mickelson broke an inviolate rule of the game. That called for a two-stroke penalty. He carded a massive 10 on the par four on way to an 81 that effectively left him out of the title hunt at +17.
As there was little doubt that Lefty committed the mistake fully aware of what he was doing, there were calls on the Fox TV and NBC Golf Channel broadcasts for him to be disqualified. But the USGA, already humiliated by their punitive setup of the course, declined to punt him (TV ratings in mind, no doubt).
The biggest cost to Mickelson, outside his bloated score, is to his reputation as one of the sport’s ambassadors. While he has had some dicey moments off the course (an FBI sting accused him of stock speculation and he paid a US$1 million restitution), Mickelson has been known as the smiling in to Tiger Woods’ brooding yang since the 1990s. TV cameras are forever catching him signing autographs and high-fiving fans.