Butch: Phil Can Be Better Than Tiger

Jeese, and here I was starting to think Tiger wouldn't win next week. Nothing like good bulletin board material. Eric Francis reports:

"Tiger's got a big lead as No. 1 in the world so it'll take a couple of years but I think he can and I think he will, actually," said Harmon, 63, who will be in Calgary Saturday for a golf symposium open to the public.

"He's going to have to really work hard and change a lot more things but he's willing to do that and wants to do it. He has the desire to try and rival Tiger."

This has to comfort Adam Scott:

"I would say they're very similar to be honest with you," said Harmon, who works with a stable of top touring pros at his Las Vegas golf school, including Adam Scott, Stewart Cink and Fred Couples.

"Both have a tremendous amount of natural talent. They both have unbelievable short games. I think Tiger may be a little better putter under pressure but I think Phil's short game around the green is a little bit better than Tiger's. In general, they're similar."

And here's where the ego gets the best of him...

Harmon said he's "halfway through" revamping Mickelson's swing, which is now more compact at the top and balanced at the finish.

"I think we've still got a pretty good ways to go but he's adapted very well in a pretty short period of time and we're both very encouraged," said Harmon, who anticipates next week's U.S. Open will provide the biggest test for Mickelson's new swing if his injured wrist is ready for action as anticipated.

And on Butch and Tiger:

"We're not going to dinner together because we don't live in the same town but we get along fine," he said. "We have fun and good banter back and forth between the two of us. At the Players Championship, he was teasing me pretty hard about teaching Phil. We've had a lot of fun with it."

Just warms the heart.