Mickelson Generates Discussion About The Role Of Golf Media

Last week’s Phil Mickelson-driven backlash toward “golf media” lit up Twitter but seemed a tad misplaced given that the story in question…

(A) was written by a Detroit News court reporter,

(B) was buried behind a paywall that only Detroit News subscribers could enjoy and therefore would have been largely unnoticed if not for Mickelson keeping it going by threatening to not return to Detroit.

(C) was a two-decade old unpaid wager that was not known about by most folks on the planet but sounds increasingly newsworthy given Mickelson’s inability to let the story go and the PGA Tour’s gambling push,

(D) that Mickelson was so willing to essentially say the role of journalists is to serve as a sort of in-house Chamber of Commerce/protective force/filter for players.

So it was refreshing to read Eamon Lynch’s Golfweek column replied to by Mickeson, who reiterated his stance on Twitter. Lynch writes:

Mickelson has every right to object to coverage he considers unfair, but underlying his response is a troubling expectation that media must function as cheerleaders when the Tour comes to town, and that failure to do so—by writing unflattering stories about him, for example—hurts the event and its charitable beneficiaries. Conflating his embarrassment with damage to the Rocket Mortgage Classic is preposterous, and accusing a reporter of deliberately hurting citizens in a deprived city by denying them the pleasure of his presence is bush league nonsense.

By Friday, Mickelson was gently backpedaling on his threatened boycott, pointing to a fan’s online petition promising 50,000 signatories imploring him to change his mind. “The people here were so nice that I’ll make a deal with them,” he said. “If he gets 50,000 and all of those 50,000 agree to do one random act of kindness for another member of the community, I’m in.”

Thus can individual churlishness be rebranded as communal charity.

(The petition has received 10,591 signatures as of this posting.)

Mickelson replied to the Lynch column:

Mickelson later added this suggestion the media look at “their own”, though I can safely say few golf media members placed half-million wagers with the cast of the Sopranos.

Lynch concludes by summing up the crux of the problem: “media that applaud and help sling product are good, media that pose awkward questions are bad. It’s the same binary equation beloved by bullshitters the world over. Not just in golf. And not just in sport.”

The issue of players viewing golf writers as a subversive force out to bring them down started with Tiger Woods following his 2009 scandal. Even though late night talk show comedians roasted Woods as golf publications avoided the story for days (and only reported salacious stuff first revealed in non-golf publications), Tiger retained a hostility toward golf press over the coverage. Yet he returned to those same late night shows to plug products and laugh it up with people who did far more to embarrass him than any golf writer.

For me, the most telling sign of trouble came a few years ago when I learned some players referred to golf writer Tim Rosaforte as “TMZ”. The implication being, he writes gossip and sleaze. The recent Memorial Tournament honoree and recipient of the PGA of America Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism.

This, even though Rosaforte diligently reported stories shared by families, agents and “teams” that enhanced player images. While he did report the less positive stories, the overriding majority of his reporting was helpful to the players. He told those tales in Golf World or on Golf Channel when people still watched the surrounding shows and they carried real influence. The “teams” often wanted to get their player’s story out through Tim and his audience heard reasons to root for golfers.

I sat next to Rosaforte several times in press centers, listening to him get every detail about Louis Oosthuizen’s love of tractors or some players’ ability to bench press some imaginary number, or a light story of barista butchering a player’s name and it helping the drone shoot 65. These stories got shared around the 19th hole and were the kind of details that delineated certain players and caused people to pay them endorsement money.

TMZ? Give me a break.

No one could dare try to pull off the “Insider” beat now. Relentless praise is not enough. Throw in the pandemic and some PGA Tour players are even more pleased to see decreased press access. Their “teams” are looking 24/7 for something to be aggrieved about and are on the lookout for the slightest non-positive remark to blow out of proportion, all to show their man they’ve got his back.

“How could they do this to the local charities, reporting you were late for your tee time? The media!”

This sad dance around a completely unfounded victimhood sensibility is why we’re subjected to American TV golf announcers piling on with an excessive compliments just minutes after having dared to say someone pulled a putt or looks like they’re nervous. And the announcers are making the right call. It takes just one player to decided he’s been wronged, even when it’s a player of no consequence whose disciplinary file is housed in the Global Home’s extra heavy-duty safe.

That Mickelson did not receive a public rebuttal from Commissioner Jay Monahan for dragging a sponsor into this was surprising. I’m fairly certain Tim Finchem or Deane Beman would not have tolerated Mickelson’s misunderstanding of media’s role or his regrettable decision to unfairly draw a sponsor and city into the the discussion. Especially when it’s a corporate partner as strong as Rocket Mortgage trying to revive Detroit and build the stop into a special event.

But times have changed. Players run the show. God forbid someone ask them why they layed-up on a par-5 or what they had for breakfast. Plenty of fans will agree with their victimhood stance. But just as many will find golfers to be soft, silly and out of touch with reality if they keep protesting over anything but a deep tissue shoulder massage.