Mickelson, DiMarco deliver a crucial point

Sep. 22, 2005 By Melanie Hauser PGATOUR.com Contributor

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. -- One half of a point.

That was all his captain asked of him.

In jest, we add. And just to give Phil Mickelson the stick -- as the Internationals call it -- one more time for his 0-for-5 week at the 2003 Presidents Cup. And his single loss at the end of the 2000 event. And, well, for general yuck-it-up-during-team-dinner-time-Wednesday night.

Mickelson's response to Jack Nicklaus' gauntlet? He doubled his allotment.

"So now I get to coast the rest of the week," said Mickelson, who teamed with Chris DiMarco for a 1-up win over Nick O'Hern and Tim Clark.

OK. He's kidding.

But trust us, that record was definitely on his mind. Yes, the circumstance were different. In 2003, he was coming off the worst year in his career. Now he's riding a high.

"It was important after going 0-5," Mickelson said. "That wasn't any fun. Plus with the loss in the (2004) Ryder Cup, I really wanted to get off to a good start in these matches. I joke about coasting in, but I certainly want to get out and improve my record in this competition because it's not what I feel it should be."

And, yes, Thursday's foursome match was a leap. Maybe even a bound.

"He was ready to get his first point," DiMarco said. "Now it's off his back. He can go out and play. A loose Phil Mickelson is a scary Phil Mickelson if you're his opponent."

And a reason to exhale -- and make it a deep one -- if you're his partner. Which DiMarco is again Friday, this time in the leadoff four-ball against Angel Cabrera and Michael Campbell, 2-and-1 winners over Davis Love III and Kenny Perry.

Why leadoff team? They asked. Nicklaus said yes.

"Having (Phil) as a partner calms you down a lot," DiMarco said.

They've known each other since college, both love to give people grief and -- you guessed it -- they talked about playing together all year.

"We certainly feel very comfortable together," DiMarco said. "He knows that there is absolutely no give-up in me and I know there is absolutely no give-up in him."

Good thing, too. They jumped on the not-quite-as-big-a-name International team quickly and were 2 up after 11 holes. Then O'Hern hit an incredible shot at the 12th that set up an eagle putt for Clark.

"We thought that when we went 2 up through 11, we thought we were going to end up pulling away," Mickelson said. "And what a shot Nick O'Hern hit for 12 on eagle. And they followed it up with two solid shots and I hit it in the water."

Chris DiMarco and Phil Mickelson never trailed in Thursday's Foursomes match. (WireImage)

Two bad shots down the stretch gave two holes away, but they pulled it out in the end.

"I look forward to playing with Chris," Mickelson said. "We get along well. We're able to talk through shots, we see similar breaks in the greens."

By the way, Mickelson wasn't the only one to dig himself out of a hole. Until Thursday, DiMarco was 0-2 in foursomes, which happens to be his least favorite format in competition.

"The hard thing is, I didn't hit an iron shot until No. 4, then I hit four in a row, then I didn't hit another one until like 15," he said. "It was a weird kind of day. That's what alternate shot does. It's the most nerve-wracking thing for me. Basically, wherever I hit it, he's got to go play it."

And vice versa.

"It's out of your control," he said. "You don't know what's going to happen. The only thing you're in control of is the shot you have at hand."

Which Thursday happened to be the winning one.