Mickelson warms up for U.S. Open with 'Entourage' cameo

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Mickelson

FORT WORTH, Texas -- He's a huge fan -- of "Entourage," and its star, Jeremy Piven.

So when the opportunity presented itself to play himself in an upcoming episode?

Let's just say it didn't take long for Phil Mickelson to say "Yes."

He shot the cameo last week in the Los Angeles area. And, of course, on a golf course.

"It's a funny show,'' said Mickelson, who is back in the field for the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial after two years. " . . . I just think it's one of the best shows I've ever seen. Certainly it's edgy, the language is a little rough. But I just love watching the show.''

He didn't give away much -- if anything. He's on a course with Piven, Martin Landau and Paul Ben-Victor and "the four of us were having a deal." It seems Piven was trying to get someone in a movie.

"I don't know what I can or can't say,'' Mickelson said.

The bottom line? The episode will likely be shown in September, but not in the Mickelson household, where small, tender ears could hear rough things.

'It will be (shown) in 12 years,'' Mickelson chuckled.

As for the shoot?

"Jeremy Piven is so funny,'' Mickelson said. "For two days, just non-stop laughing, listening to them say their lines.''

For the record, Mickelson does have his Screen Actors Guild card. He got it when he started doing commercials. His favorite? The one for Crowne Plaza, when "When Asian me is over there to my side." See the commercial highlights

He was in the movie "Tin Cup" and played himself in an episode of "The Adventures of Lois and Clark," but no, television and films are not in his future.

What else did Mickelson, who won here in 2000, do on his week off? Uh, played his feels-like-backyard course -- Torrey Pines, site of next month's U.S. Open.

"I played there yesterday,'' he said. "It looks fabulous. It really looks good. And I love something that they're doing this year where there is a couple of different layers of rough where you can actually play if you only miss the fairway by a couple of yards, you can probably play a shot to the green. And, then it progressively gets worse.

"I think it's going to be a great championship because the golf course is so hard as it is with its length and with its difficult pin placements that you really don't need to do too much to make par a good score.''

Mickelson plays the course at least once every other week and grew up playing there, but said he doesn't feel added pressure.

"I certainly feel added desire to play there because I think about how cool it would be to win a U.S. Open on the course that I grew up playing; essentially playing all of my high school matches and being out there three or four days a week,'' he said. "Going out there as a kid with my father, watching the guys inside of the ropes play and dreaming that one day a U.S. Open will come to Torrey Pines, but knowing that the golf course in its previous state wasn't capable of holding it.''

Now, he said, he sees the excitement in San Diego. And the chance to make a prime-time splash.

"I think that being able to have a 7 o'clock West Coast finish -- 10 o'clock East Coast -- prime time golf, I think it will have some of the best ratings that we have in golf. At least I'm hoping.''

So, we assume, are Piven and his entourage.