Bethesda, Md. – Phil Mickelson is certainly the second-most recognizable player on the PGA Tour, and arguably the most naturally talented. Even so, with 31 PGA Tour victories, including three major championships, on his résumé and a career that is the envy of almost anyone who has ever picked up a 6-iron, Mickelson said Wednesday he would never think of trying to scale the summits being climbed by Tiger Woods.
“I don’t know if I’m in the position to have an impact the way Tiger does,” Mickelson said.
The reality is that no one in golf, be it Mickelson or commissioner Tim Finchem, does. It is possible that no one ever has.
“It’s never happened before – Jack Nicklaus didn’t, Arnold Palmer didn’t,” PGA Tour player Rocco Mediate said. “He’s the best athlete on earth, the best at what he does – he’s taken golf to a place that it’s never been close to.”
“Golf is a $62 billion a year industry; it’s bigger than the movie industry,” said Joe Steranka, the president of the PGA of America. “But the impact Tiger has had is immeasurable – he’s elevated the awareness of golf beyond sports, beyond entertainment. He’s part of American culture – how do you put a number on that?”
All of which goes to explain why 120 players are teeing it up this morning at historical Congressional Country Club in the AT&T National – hosted by Tiger Woods – rather than at The International at Castle Pines Golf Club.
Which is why, despite so many hollow denials from some in the game, Jack Vickers was right.
When The International folded back in February, Vickers, the tournament’s founder, said what many have felt for a number of years – that there are two tours in golf, one that includes the events Woods plays and then all the rest. If you’re in the latter category – a group that included The International – he continued, you’re in trouble.
But days after Vickers folded his hand, unable to secure Woods’ presence and thus, a title sponsor, AT&T anted up for an event to which Woods and his charitable foundation were lending support. Less than four months later, Congressional, even though it already was slated to host the 2009 U.S. Amateur and 2011 U.S. Open, came aboard.
So did the players. Mickelson, struggling with a wrist injury that has sidelined him for the better part of two months, picked this event to return to. Jim Furyk, the world’s third-
ranked player, who hasn’t been to Castle Pines since 1998, is here. Geoff Ogilvy, who dropped The International from his schedule almost as soon as he won the 2006 U.S. Open, is playing this week.
In less than four months, the AT&T has gone from a gleam in someone’s eye to one of the premier events on tour. To be sure, part of the allure is Congressional, but Mediate says the course counts for about 20 percent of the buzz.
“The rest,” he said, “Tiger.”
Before he actually began making a name for himself with his play, wispy-thin Charles Howell III was perhaps best known for the number of milkshakes he would down in the Castle Pines locker room. Now a neighbor of Woods in tony Isleworth, Fla., Howell says he will be eternally grateful to The International for giving him a chance during his formative years on tour.
But whatever affection Howell feels for the Vickers family, there would be no way for him to decline an invitation into Woods’ limited-field event.
“If I did, I don’t think I’d want to run into him at the grocery store or anything like that,” Howell said.
Letting go
Since The International folded, Vickers has been virtually silent, telling associates that he would prefer to “just let it go” for now. Some of the players in the field here say they’ve talked with Vickers and get the sense that he is still very hurt by the events that led to the end of his tournament.
Finchem said he had lunch with Vickers during the Masters in April and has maybe talked with him once on the phone since. Finchem was in Denver on the February day that The International shut down – the thought was that Vickers might come out blazing at his farewell news conference, tearing down Finchem, the tour and anything else in sight. Instead, Vickers was extremely conciliatory, a tone which even surprised the commissioner.
“The way he handled things out there – he is a class act from A to Z,” Finchem said. “It was a very difficult thing that happened. One way or the other, I hope to be able to make him feel better about the whole situation.”
The commissioner is certainly feeling flush this week, having accomplished what Vickers and his team was unable to do – forge an ongoing relationships with Woods, who played The International only twice, and not since 1999. And while some have questioned the propriety of having a member of the rank-and-file, at age 31, receiving such special treatment, in essence becoming a partner of the tour, Finchem isn’t among them.
“Jack Nicklaus was 35 when he began hosting the Memorial and he won his last major at 46 – it was never a problem, and I don’t anticipate it being a problem here,” said Finchem, who added that he approached Woods about the idea of hosting an event two or three years ago.
“I think the whole premise here,” Finchem said, “was that you only have a few players, maybe one a generation, that carry with them the impact of a Palmer or Nicklaus. And we think that’s the situation here, given what Tiger has accomplished in his first 11 years out here.”
So if that means bending over backward to make sure all the stars that didn’t align in Colorado – merging sponsorship, an elite field and a great course – come a twinkling in Maryland for Woods, so be it. If it means taking a hit from players complaining that instead of knocking it around at Castle Pines, they’re idle because they weren’t considered worthy enough to be invited here, so be it.
“Those guys need to just shut up,” Mediate said. “No one ever says anything about Jack and the Memorial. No one ever says anything about Arnold (and his invitational).
“And they’re questioning this one? From him, and all he’s done for everybody who’s on this tour? I don’t get that.”
Neither do others connected to the game, who acknowledge Woods’ ultimate power over the sport.
“If I’m Tim Finchem, I’m in heaven,” Steranka said. “You’ve got your lead superstar engaged in the business side of the tour.”
Staff writer Anthony Cottoncan be reached at 303-954-1292
Tiger Town
From virtually every perspective, on the course and off, Tiger Woods is in control of the golf world.
On the course
Has won 12 major championships, second only to Jack Nicklaus (18).
Has won 57 PGA Tour events, fifth all time.
Host of the AT&T National.
Host of the offseason Target World Challenge.
Off the course
Multimillion-dollar endorsement deals with companies including Nike, Buick, TAG Heuer (watches), EA Sports (video games), Accenture, American Express.
Founded the Tiger Woods Learning Center in California; plans to open a second center in Washington, D.C.
Established the Tiger Woods Foundation in 1996, reaching an estimated 10 million youngsters.
SPOTLIGHT: PHIL MICKELSON
Conditions spur left-hander’s ire, touchiness
Mickelson was into memory suppression Wednesday. About the 1999 British Open at Carnoustie, site of this season’s next major championship. And about Oakmont Country Club, site of the most recent, the U.S. Open. Making a comeback from a left wrist injury, the left-hander struggled in Pennsylvania, shooting 74-77 to miss the cut. Afterward, Mickelson went on a tirade about the conditions at Oakmont, calling them “dangerous” – a feeling that, to be polite, wasn’t exactly shared by his fellow players. Asked Wednesday if he regretted his comments, or if they were spurred by the emotions of the moment, Mickelson replied, flatly, “Probably.” Asked if he cared to elaborate a bit more, Mickelson declined. “No. Just probably.” Mickelson was a bit more expansive about the state of his wrist entering the AT&T National, his first tournament since the Open. “I’ve played the last six or seven days and have been able to play without being worried about being injured,” he said. “It’s not quite 100 percent, but it will be all right.”
One and counting
“How many more majors do you think those guys will win?”
Notah Begay, on Angel Cabrera, Zach Johnson, Michael Campbell and Rich Beem, the players who have finished just ahead of Tiger Woods in major championships
THIS WEEK:
PGA Tour
AT&T National, Congressional Country Club, Bethesda, Md.
What’s up: There’s a PGA Tour stop this week. Tiger Woods is in the field. The tournament isn’t being played in Colorado.
Champions Tour
U.S. Senior Open, Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wis.
What’s up: Next year, the seniors will be at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. This week, Allen Doyle is attempting to three-peat as national champion.
