SANDWICH, England — Phil Mickelson had to settle for his seventh runner-up finish in a major Sunday at the British Open, although there was some consolation in seeing Darren Clarke on his way to his first major championship.
Clarke’s wife, Heather, died of breast cancer in August 2006, just a month before the Ryder Cup in Ireland. Nearly three years later, Mickelson’s wife was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“He was one of the first people that called us, Amy and I, a couple years ago,” Mickelson said. “He’s been through this and couldn’t have been a better person to talk to. We talked for a few hours a couple of times. He’s a tremendous person and a very good friend, and I couldn’t be happier for him.”
Mickelson’s wife is doing better. She walked with him at Torrey Pines this year, then at the Masters and, after a quick vacation to Paris with the kids, came to the final round at Royal St. George’s.
Clarke likes to keep private conversations just that, although he has made it clear how much the Mickelsons have meant to him.
At the 2006 Ryder Cup, when Clarke walked into the opening and closing ceremonies without an escort, Amy Mickelson walked between her husband and Clarke to be with both of them so that Clarke wouldn’t walk alone.
The Associated Press
