I Betcha I Can! (Phil Mickelson)

Member Name: kenjohn

Product:	Phil Mickelson
Date:	04/08/02 (55 review reads)
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~ ~ This US golfer will have a big say in whether or not the European team manage to wrest the much coveted Ryder Cup Trophy back from the determined grip of their American opponents at the Belfry next month. (September, 2002)
A superb golfer, and American to the core, he is a much feared competitor, and if he has any say in the matter then the old ‘Sam Ryder’ Cup will still be in the US team’s hand luggage when they make the return trip to the States.

~ ~ Phil Mickleson is now one of the finest golfers in the world today.
He was a product of the American ‘Collegiate’ system, where aspiring golfers of a high standard are sponsored through their University education. (Incidentally, many European golfers are now gaining access to this fine way of encouraging fine golfing talent)
He was literally born to be a golfer, starting out with a cut-down club almost as soon as he could walk.
At the age of four, he played his first ever complete round of golf with his father, and as they approached the 18th green, his dad noticed that the young Phil was having a quiet wee bubble to himself. Thinking that his young son was finding the long round too much for him, his dad kindly asked what was the matter. Far from being tired out by his exertions, the youngster explained to his astounded father that he was crying because the 18th hole marked the end of the round, and that he wasn’t ready to stop playing yet!!
This burning desire to play the game he loved led him to no fewer than 34 local amateur titles in his home county of San Diego, and a glittering amateur career, which saw him winning three NCCA (College) Championships, the US Amateur Championship, entry to the US Walker Cup side, (the amateur equivalent of the Ryder Cup) and which culminated in him actually winning a regular US Tour (professional) event while still an amateur, the 1991 Northern Telecom Open.
The first time I ever saw him play was when he too
k part in the Walker Cup match here at Portmarnock Golf Club in Dublin, Ireland in the early 1990’s. He was astounding during that series, and I knew then that I was watching a golfer who would go onto bigger and better things, and electrify the golf world wherever he played.

~ ~ Since he turned professional, Phil Mickleson has done just about everything that has been asked of him in the game of golf, winning on the US Tour at least once every year since he became a pro, with the exception of 1999, when he took a short sabbatical from golf for the birth of his daughter.
He is to American golf what Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie is to European golf however, (the best golfer never to have won a Major) and despite ‘knocking on the door’ on numerous occasions, has yet to win his first Major title. He no doubt would have done so were it not for yet another phenomenal US golfer who you all are no doubt familiar with, a certain young man called Tiger Woods, whose career has run parallel to Phil’s own.
He attracts huge audiences wherever he plays, who come to watch not only his silky smooth putting stroke, deft touch around the greens, and astounding length of the tee, but also to witness his cavalier attitude towards the sport, which he plays with controlled venom, never ‘backing off’ a shot, and always prepared to take the risky approach in his quest for glory.
This dare devil attitude is reflected in his life off the golf course, where he is a recognised ‘high roller’ in most of the casinos in America, and where he gambles with the same reckless abandon as he plays his beloved golf.
This attacking style of play has probably cost him dearly on the golf course, as often he will play the risky shot when good sense and propriety demands that ‘safety first’ is the sensible approach. This has without question cost him many victories, but when he is questioned about it by the world’s
media, he states openly that he plays golf to win, and that this is the only way he knows how to play.
Anything else would be a compromise, he states, and that he would rather give up playing than become just another boring ‘safety first’ golfer.
He is also a total gentleman, who ALWAYS makes time for his legion of fans, and who will often spend a lot of time chatting and signing autographs after he has finished his round. (unlike some other notable players I could mention!!)

~ ~ Phil Mickleson, who is still only in his early thirties, will surely yet ‘come good’ and carry home a bucket load of Major titles.
Watch him play whenever you get the chance, and if you are a gambler, then never forget to put a few bob on this big American. One of these days, he is going to come good at the right time, and then even the ferocious Tiger will not be able to stand in his way!

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The following is a breakdown of his career to date, and is only included for the ‘die-hard’ golf fan.

Career Record

US Tour Victories
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2002 - Canon Greater Hartford Open. Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

2001 - Canon Greater Hartford Open. Buick Invitational.

2000 - Bellsouth Classic. Buick Invitational. Mastercard Colonial. TOUR Championship.

1998 - Mercedes Championship. AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

1997 - Sprint International. Bay Hill Invitational.

1996 - NEC World Series. GTE Byron Nelson Classic. Phoenix Open. Nortel Open.

1995 - Northern Telecom Open.

1994 - Mercedes Championship.

1993 - The International. Buick Invitational.

1991 - Northern Telecom Open. (as an amateur)

Other Achievements
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1996 Golf Digest Byron Nelson Award recipient (most wins on PGA TOUR)

Member, 1995 ,1997 and 1999 U.S. Ryder Cup Teams

Member, 1994, 1996 and 1
998 U.S. Presidents Cup Teams

Member, 1996 U.S. Dunhill Cup Team

1991 Golf World Amateur of the Year

1990 U.S. Amateur Champion

Three-time NCAA Champion and Player of the Year
Along with Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, one of only three players to win the U.S. Amateur and NCAA Championship in the same year (1990)

Low amateur, 1990-91 U.S. Opens and 1991 Masters

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