Phil Mickelson hints of a new strategy to tackle the course at Open Championships
The left-handed American golfer, Phil Mickelson better known as “lefty”, has revealed a change of strategy for this year’s Open Championship and said that he will be concentrating on his short putting on the greens more than anything.
Mickelson was talking to the reporters at the Inverness in Scotland, the venue of this week’s warm up event, the Barclays Scottish Open, where many of the top players have gathered to sharpen their skills on a links style course before heading into the third
Grand Slam of the season.
“The biggest reason is the greens,” the sixth-ranked Mickelson said. “I have not putted well. The grass is a little bit more coarse, a little thicker, has a little bit more effect, and you need to putt with less break and more aggression is what I've come
to find.”
Despite being one of the most revered and loved player in the US, and having four major titles under his belt, Mickelson has never come anywhere close to winning the Open Championship in Britain. He cites his unfamiliarity with the links style courses and
the greens in particular as the major reason behind his lopsided performances in the Open.
Mickelson posted his only Top-10 finish at the Open in 2004, the year also hailed as the best year in his career. He not only won the Masters in 2004 but also posted a joint second in the US Open.
Mickelson will be teeing-off on the Castle Stuart’s ink style course for the Scottish Open this weekend, in an attempt to acclimatize for the upcoming event.
“Having a week now to be able to see the way the ball reacts, get my mind adjusted to the short-game shots, as well as the full shots, how the ball reacts, I think is going to play a big effect -- a big positive effect -- in my performances,” he said.
Mickelson’s career was largely overshadowed by his countryman and compatriot Tiger Woods, who started rewriting history some 15 years ago. Mickelson, having won four major titles and a staggering 47 professional titles, was never able to summit the Official
World Golf Rankings (OWGR) in his almost 20-year professional stretch. He is also hailed as one of the top earners of the sports when his annual earnings touched a huge $51-million in 2007.
Mickelson acknowledges the fact that not mastering the British greens has been the key factor in his disappointing runs in the Open Championship and vowed to change the same for the better. He has won just one PGA title for the season, The Shell Houston
Open, after starting off the year with sloppy hitting in the opening events. The 41-year-old will be facing a stiff European brigade which has been dominating the sports after Woods fall from the top.
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