Video: "Oh no not again!" Phil In The Hospitality Tent...Again!

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This time, having a night to sleep on his overgauged shot Friday from the tent, Phil Mickelson gauged the bounce off the Barclay's carpeting better even though he had to carve it over the tent and, well...you just have to watch. Unreal.

The video:

And since the tents are temporary, there will be no plaques. Just these painted remembrances, tweeted out by the Ridgewood CC Grounds account.

The first.


And the second:

 

“Every time we watch the replay of the telecast, it brings out the same emotions and highs and lows that we experienced..."

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Karen Crouse does a nice job getting Jim "Bones" Mackay to talk about last year's epic Phil Mickelson win at Muirfield and the rare emotions it evoked from the longtime Mickelson looper.

She writes:

Mackay’s clear head complements Mickelson’s unconcealed heart, but when Mickelson made a curling, left-to-right 10-footer for birdie at the final hole, Mackay was the one who lost it.

He was overcome by emotion seeing Mickelson succeed on a stage where he had failed so many times. It moved him beyond words to see all the time Mickelson had spent developing a cut drive to counteract the wind pay off on such a grand stage. The depth of Mackay’s fondness for Mickelson was revealed in a pool of tears that could have filled the claret jug. For one day, anyway, there was no taking for granted one of the most stable relationships in sports.

“It was awesome,” Mickelson said, adding: “Every time we watch the replay of the telecast, it brings out the same emotions and highs and lows that we experienced throughout that round. It’s something that we’ll cherish forever.”

Mickelson returned the jug Monday at Royal Liverpool to R&A Chief Executive Peter Dawson and a miraculously situated sponsor's vehicle that happened to make some of the frames.

Steve DiMeglio reports on Mickelson's return and his upbeat mood Monday as he prepares to defend.

Jim McCabe files a super recounting of last year and Mickelson's return as defending champion.

There was this about the jug getting used as a decanter for some nice wine, which ended up being the big takeaway from his presser.

Pushed to disclose what has been used to celebrate these toasts, Mickelson smiled. Treating the Claret Jug with reverence, he said, is to realize only the finest quality tastes can be used and one of his friends offered up a 1990 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti.

“Now, I didn’t know what this was when I drank it,” Mickelson said. “I just knew that it was really good.”

Given that a bottle of Romanee-Conti could set you back anywhere from $20,000 and $40,000, it’s safe to assume the French wine was very good, so it will remain another vivid memory of his year of supreme satisfaction.

Phil & Tiger Roundup: Fortune's Highest Paid List Shuffle, Pinehurst & Tiger Hitting Drivers

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Landing 6th at $37.2 million on Fortune's best guess at income earned in 2013, Phil Mickelson passed Tiger Woods who fell to 7th with $35.5 million last year.

Floyd Mayweather finished atop the list with $105 million in earnings.

Speaking of Mickelson, I followed him quite a bit at Pinehurst and filed this story for Golf World suggesting that there was an odd sameness to his rounds and body language, but that his game is ultimately not that far off.

As for Tiger, he hit balls last weekend, including drivers after starting work on the range last Tuesday, first reported by Tim Rosaforte on Morning Drive and more extensively later on Golf Central. Agent Mark Steinberg confirmed but the timetable for a competitive return remains unsettled.

Corrections And Amplifications, WSJ And Phil Edition

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Thanks to reader John for noticing the Wall Street Journal's very minor "Corrections & Addendums" to their original story from two weeks ago on Phil Mickelson and the federal investigation of insider trading.


Corrections & Amplifications

Golfer Phil Mickelson didn't trade Clorox securities, according to his lawyer. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said Mr. Mickelson's trading in Clorox was under scrutiny.


While the New York Times was criticized for almost entirely retracting their reporting on Mickelson, the paper at least did so in fairly high-profile fashion. It appears the Journal is not ready to do so yet.

New York Times (Grudgingly) Admits They Misfired On Phil Mickelson's Part In Insider Trading Story

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The Matthew Goldstein and Ben Protess story which, while still suggesting Phil Mickelson may have issues related to his Dean Foods trades that netted him $1 million (to Billy Walters' $15 million), includes this:

“The new details, provided in the interviews with the people briefed on the matter, indicate that Mr. Mickelson’s ties to the investigation are weaker than previously reported.”

My analysis at GolfDigest.com's The Loop.

Phil: “If nobody hit a green, I feel like my chances are the best"

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Intriguing quote from Phil Mickelson, as quoted by Sean Martin of PGATour.com covering the FedEx St. Jude Classic, that might sound weird at first reading:

“If nobody hit a green, I feel like my chances are the best,” he said. “I’m excited about the prospect of a U.S. Open that has (the) short game as such an important element.”

I think this was the nicest way he could say that Pinehurst is all about scrambling, and I would agree.

If there is a U.S. Open course where players will miss a lot of greens, it's Pinehurst. A few of the pinched landing areas may force some longer irons in, while the sandy waste will probably result in a few more greens hit and a lot more recovery shots missing.

Which is why I love scramblers this week, if there is such a thing anymore. Something to factor in for your fantasy picks and pools. Not that I condone gambling of any kind.