PLAYERS win brings more validation than money for Mickelson
 
May. 13, 2007
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By Helen Ross
PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- He made this one look easy.

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(WireImage)
PHIL-ING A VOID
In his third week with a new coach, Phil Mickelson suddenly looks as good as ever. 
Mickelson added his 31st PGA TOUR victory to his collection Sunday by winning THE PLAYERS Championship with control that had been lacking the last three months, closing with a 3-under 69 for a two-shot victory that returned him to No. 2 in the world and pointed him in the right direction with the U.S. Open approaching. 
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Sure, Phil Mickelson flirted with the water and Pete Dye's signature railroad ties on the 18th hole at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course on Sunday evening. He had arrived with a three-stroke lead, though, and the resulting bogey was his first in 27 holes.

Yes, this one was big. Mickelson beat the strongest field in golf at THE PLAYERS Championship with the kind of efficiency and control that was nowhere to be found that desperate Sunday afternoon at Winged Foot 11 months ago.

And four weeks from now, he'll go to Oakmont to play in another U.S. Open as one of the favorites. He'll have to revisit that messy meltdown, to be sure, but now he'll have lots of other, much more pleasant, things on which to dwell.

Sunday's victory at the TPC Sawgrass was the 31st of Mickelson's career and his second of the season. He moved to second in the Official World Golf Ranking again, as well as in the FedExCup standings and on the PGA TOUR money list.

Not that he needs the money, but Mickelson is $1.63 million richer, too, thanks to the largest purse in golf. The significance of Sunday's victory, though, goes well beyond a litany of numbers.

This win was validation. The victory came on the heels of two third-place finishes in the three weeks since Mickelson officially left his long-time friend and teacher Rick Smith to seek the help of famed instructor Butch Harmon to fine-tune his swing.

"It wasn't a hit or miss," Mickelson explained. "It's steadily gotten better the more time I've put into it. This was a great week to have the chance to spend each day with Butch, six days straight, to work on my game, to work on these changes, and consequently as the week wore on, I started to hit it better and better."

Sunday he was at his best. The gambler known for his wildness off the tee hit all but four fairways and 16 of 18 greens. For once, consistency and control trumped his vaunted short game on a day when he needed a mediocre 31 putts.

"What I'd like to do is have four days of ball?striking like today's final round and then it takes a lot of pressure off my short game," admitted Mickelson, who had worked with Harmon to eliminate half the golf course. "I could have run it high if I would have made some reasonable putts.

"I will gladly take the way the round went because it was a stress?free type round."

Mickelson seized control of THE PLAYERS Sunday when Sean O'Hair bogeyed the 10th hole and he birdied No. 11. And when O'Hair put two balls in the water at the treacherous 17th, Mickelson got to take a relaxed victory walk on the final hole.

The outcome was eerily similar to the Masters a year ago when Mickelson also closed with a 69, had a three-shot lead on the final tee and ended up making bogey. But he wasn't quite ready to rank THE PLAYERS with his three majors --- yet.

"I don't know exactly today, but I think as I look back on my career after I stop playing, I think I'll look back on this tournament victory in the same light as the majors," he said.

Mickelson will start his painstaking preparation for the season's next major soon, traveling to Oakmont several times for those now legendary 8- to 10-hour practice rounds. He'll take two weeks off and return to competition at the Memorial.

Mickelson might also play the Stanford St. Jude Championship the week before the U.S. Open because he didn't like this performance at the Masters after taking the previous week off. The Travelers Championship is also on his immediate schedule.

So would the man who went 0-for-42 in the majors and then won three of the next nine be the favorite if the U.S. Open were to be played next week?

"No, I'm not ready for that yet," Mickelson said quickly. "I do need those three or four weeks to continue to progress and get sharper. I struck it today the way I need to, but I didn't do it all four days, and that's what I need to do."

Still, it's clear that Mickelson is energized by his victory Sunday and the value he sees in the hours he's been putting in with Harmon.

"That's what's most exciting is I feel like we're just getting started," Mickelson said. "This is only week No. 3. I feel like in three months how much am I going to progress? In three years where am I going to be?

"I've seen an immediate difference in three weeks, and I can't wait for another three weeks to go by and start getting ready for the U.S. Open. And another three or four weeks to go by and get ready for the British.

"I'm really excited about the direction I'm headed."