Bryson Earns Tour Card With New Driver, Plenty Of Energy

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Noted in Adam Stanley's recap of the clubs in Bryson DeChambeau's winning bag, the 2016-17 DAP Chamiponship winner revealed that his tour-card clinching victory came thanks to advice from Phil Mickelson.

Stanley writes:

DeChambeau got a new driver this week – his previous one broke last week – and it clearly benefited him. He hit 16 fairways Sunday, counting the two playoff holes. He admitted Sunday that he could “go play again tomorrow” as he still had a lot of energy. Conserving that energy was part of some advice he received from Phil Mickelson earlier in the year about how to approach a tournament.

“The strategy is the strategy. Once I become comfortable with a golf course, that’s all I need. I learned I don’t need to be there Sunday before the tournament and play three or four practice rounds. That’s one thing I learned from Phil,” DeChambeau said.

Will Gray explains what DeChambeau's win means for his status in the Web.com Tour playoffs and 2016-17 PGA Tour.

Stinger! 63 Again: Mickelson's Heartbreaker At Troon

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There really wasn't a 62 in the air for Phil Mickelson until the birdie putt on 17 went in, and as I noted for GolfDigest.com based on my observations from the course, even Mickelson wasn't thinking it until late. But once he did, the heartbreak of such a lipout was evident.

Tiger still thinks about his putt at Southern Hills in 2008 and Phil will remember this one for the rest of his life. And 62 remains safe, as does the legacy of the Golf Gods.

That said, it's still a 63 in The Open, the last tournament Phil has won since 2013.

Where does it rank on the list of 28 previous 63's? Jaime Diaz, who wrote a definitive piece recently on 63s, says this one makes the top 5

After the round, Ernie Els lamented the missed chance at history but spoke of his pleasure in watching it unfold. Alex Myers reports.

'11 Flashback: Clinton Foundation Signed On For Eight Years

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Tuesday's news that the Clinton Foundation was no longer going to be associated with the old Bob Hope Classic was surprising, and topped a day later by the news of Phil Mickelson's SEC issues seems pretty embarrassing for the PGA Tour.

Having the announcement of Mickelson as new "ambassador" a day before his SEC matter went public looks terrible given the comments of Mickelson's attorney, which suggests he knew this was coming.

As for the Clinton Foundation saying goodbye, the original 2011 announcement said it was an eight-year deal, yet they are now out after five years?

Thought for players to consider: perhaps Tim Finchem should be spending less time working on building leveraging plays to boost his retirement package and more time talking to Bill and Phil?

Just a thought.

Bones On Phil Hitting It Better Than Ever, Winning Masters Again

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The interview with Amanda Balionis, new Callaway hire talks to Phil Mickelson bagman Jim "Bones" Mackay about all things Phil, the Masters and his veto power over the boss. He also calls this a "really exciting time" for Mickelson because of his man's improved ball striking, saying he will win this event again, if not this week but one of these years.



Video: Phil, Spieth Kick Off Golf's Talk Show Season

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I forgot to mention in my Forward Press column on golf's two cutting-edge talk shows that in addition to landing big "gets", the shows were likely to deliver entertaining fodder that most pre-scripted talk shows fail to produce.

Jordan Spieth's part-one sitdown with Feherty was interesting in ways I hadn't quite expected and the subsequent viewer reviews have been glowing for the season debut. (The show also drew a 325,000 avg. and was the second most-watched Feherty premiere ever). You can get a flavor of the first episode from this page of clips. The talk of Tiger has gone viral-ish because of Spieth's claim that players do not respect Tiger's greatness enough. His comments on underestimating Jason Day will appear in part two next Monday, March 14.

And Phil Mickelson was as engaging as expected on the season two debut of Callaway Live. What I didn't expect was the display of acting chops from Phil in this bit: