Phil Mickelson says he's 100% as he tries for number-one spot
Phil Mickelson, the reigning Masters champion and fourth-ranked golfer in the world, has yet another chance this week to become the number-one golfer when he tees it up at the HSBC Champions
event in Shanghai, China, beginning Thursday 4 November.
Mickelson had numerous chances to pull off the feat this summer but failed to do so. One reason was likely the psoriatic arthritis that he has been suffering from since the U.S. Open this
past June. He began taking medication for the condition, which produced acute pain in his tendons and joints, at the PGA Championship a couple of months later. He said the treatment took about eight weeks to kick in, meaning he likely wasn’t fully recovered
until early October at the Ryder Cup in Wales. But now, he is ready and motivated.
"I've been taking one drug and I feel 100 per cent," he said from Sheshan International. "I feel terrific. I cannot believe the difference. I've been able to do all the normal activities
in my life. I've been able to practice at whatever level, and I honestly don't feel any different than I did before."
The pain was at its worst around the U.S. Open but Mickelson did not want to use his condition as an excuse for his poor play over the summer, where his best finish was a T8 at the BMW
Championship in mid-September.
"I don't know. It's hard to say," he said of the effect the arthritis had on his game. "The U.S. Open, I might have been affected. But I've had good time off. I'm on a good medicine. Things
feel pretty good. I'm excited where I'm at, excited I can work out the same and get back into the gym, and get back to work again."
When asked if he was disappointed that he never attained the number-one spot over the summer, he said he didn’t deserve it.
"I haven't played well since the Masters, or as well as I expected maybe since the U.S. Open," he said. "So I don't feel like I've earned it. I've got to play well and win more tournaments,
and then I feel like those results will take care of itself."
Lee Westwood passed Tiger Woods this past week as the world’s number-one golfer. And this week in China, four players including Woods, Mickelson, Westwood, and Martin Kaymer, all have
a chance to grab the top spot.
"It's fun to be a part of it and have a chance," said a healthy Mickelson.
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