THE OPEN Championship is starting to heat up. Don't miss it!

[givemebackmycountry]

I've been watching since 7am eastern, and I can't turn away from it.

Darren Clarke, the Irishman is at 7 under after 13.
Lefty, Phil Mickelson is at 4 under after 15.
Dustin Johnson is at 5 under after 13.

One minute it's sunny and calm, and the next it's driving rain and 30mph winds.
Players have been in and out of their rain suits four or five times now.

Now, the wind is howling and this one exciting golf match.

[givemebackmycountry]

1. The Irishman is on cruise control.

How can you not love a guy who is on record as saying if he wins this thing, he won't be sober for two months?

Edited to undo an obvious misstatement where I incorrectly heard something the ESPN commentator said.
But as always, thanks to the gracious DU'ers who are WAY more informed than I am!

corrected.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. What do you mean by 'two players from the same country'?

If you're looking at any country, then it's only 2 years - Lucas Glover and Stewart Cink with the 2009 US and British Open. Should that be 'country other than the USA'?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronological_list_of_men%27s_major_golf_champions

[hty7645]

17. agreed

[elleng]

3. I was that way last year, when it was in Scotland.

[ProfessorGAC]

4. A.B.M.

Anybody but Mickelson. Now, i'm extremely happy for Darren Clarke, BUT ANYBODY BUT THE FRAUD MICKELSON.

If you don't know that phony's history, look it up.
GAC

[Kingofalldems]

5. I enjoy watching him play, what is his history?

[ProfessorGAC]

12. See My Other Reply

It's myriad and several. There are things i really can't discuss on line. But, i've given a few examples.

He's a silverspoon who thinks he deserves his success instead of being grateful for it.

Ask someone who's been a marshall or volunteer at a tournament. He treats them all like shit, and he has since he was 20 years old. And he still does.

GAC

[wilt the stilt]

6. Professor

give us a hint on some of the things he has done.

[ProfessorGAC]

11. Here's A Few

And if you want, you can find this stuff out for yourself with a little research.

He claimed to have studied Economics in college in his firt Golf Digest interview. He only took Econ 101, got a C and didn't graudate from college.

He claimed to be an army brat. His dad was an officer and they didn't move from any location until Phil was 12 and then they moved because his dad left the army to be an executive. He grew up on a coutnry club and claimed to be an army brat. Fail.

He said he was "managing" his own investments. He lied. When the guy who was actually doing his investing (and making him 15.4% per year) spoke up, Phil dumped him. In the 5 years since, Phil is making <10% on his investments. If he was really the one doing it, he wouldn't have lost 6% ROI because the market didn't fall that far 5 years ago.

There's three. There're things i can't reveal over the internet. You folks are just going to have to trust me on this. There's no reason for you to. I'm just saying i can't say everything i know.

Everyone has bought into this "wonderful family man" simply because he didn't dive on his wife when she was sick. For me, you don't get extra points for that. THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO! No extra credit.

Being a lying tool your whole life and then actually standing up and doing the right thing once doesn't excuse the bullshit you've sold the public.

He is the LAST thing away from a "regular" guy. He is more like "W" than any golfer on the planet. He's a spoiled, entitled liar who would be serving fries at McD's if he wasn't a silverspoon with great hand-eye coordination.
GAC

[Maccagirl]

13. I don't know about Mickelson the person

but I've always hated how the fans and media fawn all over him.

[ProfessorGAC]

15. Me Too

He's been sold as "everyman" and he's the opposite.
GAC

[wilt the stilt]

14. I did read that he doesn't have a single friend

on the tour and John Fienstein said he is Eddie Haskell.

[JonLP24]

7. Looks windy today

[JonLP24]

8. Mickelson on a tear so far

[JonLP24]

9. Clarke with the Eagle

2 shot lead. Wow.

[joeybee12]

10. Good for him...

All these Irish winning all this now!

[ProfessorGAC]

16. And He's A Loser Again

Good.

There are things i know that i can't say because the people who told me asked me not to.

He's a tool. Anytime he loses i'm happy.
GAC

[Awsi Dooger]

18. Mickelson is a great guy at every tournament I've attended

I'd advise everyone here not to fall for Professor's desperate claims, specifically that marshalls detest Mickelson. It's exactly the opposite. They rave about him.

I've attended Doral every recent year and followed Phil's group. He's easily the most genuine and likable player among the entire lot. It's surreal how many autographs he'll sign, before and after every round. Between holes he knocks knuckles and makes eye contact with everyone who calls out to him. Contrast that to zombie Tiger and virtually every other tour player, who march forward pretending they hear nothing. It's the most laughable thing I've ever seen.

Mickelson and his caddie Bones will hand out golf balls and gloves to little kids throughout the round, long before the TV coverage shows up. The only thing Phil dislikes is kids who campaign for it. This year I saw him hand out a ball to a little boy between holes and another bigger kid ran up to the ropes, shouting, "I want one! I want one!" Phil smiled but waved him off. Last year I witnessed an identical example. Phil wants it to be spontaneous and unpredictable.

It's hardly a new trend for Phil. In the late '90s when Mickelson still played the Las Vegas event in the fall I saw him talk to a fan for a half hour behind the driving range at Desert Inn, after the guy approached him following Phil's range session. I listened from nearby. Phil and Vijay Singh were the only players still there in late afternoon. Phil and Amy were joking with the fan while Vijah made wisecracks from about 10 feet away. That's the type of thing Tiger would never have participated in, at any point of his career.

This is a familiar topic. Many fans want to believe Phil is a phony and accept any so-called evidence. It's beaten to death on major golf forums. But fortunately the pro-Phil crowd has surfaced in recent years and destroyed many bogus internet claims. Plus many of the players, and several media members, have come forward in Phil's defense. Phil can irritate some players since he's opinionated on virtually everything, not unlike Johnny Miller. In fact, I hope that's Phil's role down the line, a TV gig. It would be wonderful.

[ProfessorGAC]

19. Advise Whatever You'd Like

But, you don't know who i know and you don't know their experiences.

You don't want to belive me, fine. I don't believe your story, so it's mutual.

So, let me advise anybody here to ignore your version. See, how simple that is?
GAC

[Awsi Dooger]

20. Mickelson generosity

Here's a link on his Start Smart program, paying for back to school clothing and supplies for underprivileged kids in the San Diego area. Phil and Amy showed up at Walmart at 5:30 AM for the event. At the point this article was written, Phil had paid more than $1 million over 4 years. No doubt it's an ongoing phony gesture.

http://www.sdcoe.net/news/news_story.asp?NID=8

Numerous other examples, including Phil paying for the full college education of Conrad Dobler's daughter after the Doblers were disabled and broke.

Here's an excellent column from a senior editor of Sports Illustrated, examining why so many people are determined to dislike Mickelson:

http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1981101,00.html

"Here's what I can see about Phil Mickelson: He goes on and on being amiable. He signs autographs. He tips his cap. He is the nation's leading exporter of golf balls to little kids. He says goofy things like "Be right, honey!" when the ball is in the air rather than the more earthy "You suck! G--dammit!" that Tiger shouted on Saturday. He talks about his family. There are a thousand stories about random acts of kindness — a $200 tip here, a $100 purchase at a kid's lemonade stand there — and every now and then word leaks out about him doing something beyond kind, like the way he quietly helped the family of former NFL star Conrad Dobler, who has fallen on hard times both physically and financially. "Our guardian angel," Dobler calls Mickelson.

Still ... so many people, like my colleague and friend, remain convinced that it's an act, a ridiculous act, and that he's a phony. They will cling to various bits of circumstantial evidence: the Esquire story that named Mickelson one of the ten most hated athletes in America; the various quotes you can find from anonymous golfers who suggest Phil doesn't have friends on Tour; the direct line from Vijay Singh who, when asked on HBO a few years back why he didn't smile more like Phil, said with a bit of a sneer, "Is that the real Phil?" It is not hard to find golfers who, off the record, will say that Phil maintains a distance, that he isn't one of them, that he's just kind of strange, that he's not real."

[ProfessorGAC]

21. Never Mind Self-Deleting

Some people can't be taught. It's not worth trying