2021 PGA Championship - Phil!

[me05501]

Why am I thinking that all Phil's talk about learning to focus is going to flow into a pitch for the coffee, gum, etc? 🙂

 

It's also pretty clear from all his comments after this win that his two quick victories on the Champions Tour were pretty meaningless to him. He says "Maybe this is the last tournament I'll ever win, I don't know," when we all know he can win 5-6 times a year on the senior circuit. Clearly top players don't put much value on those wins. 

 

 

 

Edited May 24, 2021 by me05501

[NJBigFish22]

All the hate for Brooks is laughable to me, the guy played bad, was injured coming in and the PGA should have had better security, they should have known or planned for if Phil won.  So BK is a sore loser, Tiger had plenty of moments when he was a sore loser, but most people don’t care if he is a jerk in a presser after finishing 2nd.

[Duct Tape]

2 hours ago, Ferguson said:

 

That's one for the "certified" medical contingent to answer. 

 

Well, I’m an MD, sometimes certifiable, especially when my wife tells me I’m playing either too little or too much golf, often on the same day - but I don’t know where to begin to answer this question.  If there even is one. 

[LYG]

I wonder if Phil's win with the old style (Wilson 8802) Odyssey blade will bring any renaissance with those?

 

For the Millennials, who don't know the 8802, the Cameron Napa was modeled after that.

[Dino81]

5 hours ago, AndersUK said:

 

I agree with tacklingdummy.  T57 is exceptional for Phil and he was hitting plenty of fairways for his standards and most importantly, hitting them when it mattered.

 

Phil was 29th in Strokes Gained Off the Tee. Hitting 360+ yard bombs a few feet into the rough is just as, if not more important, than hitting it 290 in the fairway. Take away that smother hook on Saturday and he likely would have been way farther up that list.

[north_east_pro]

2 minutes ago, LYG said:

I wonder if Phil's win with the old style (Wilson 8802) Odyssey blade will bring any renaissance with those?

 

For the Millennials, who don't know the 8802, the Cameron Napa was modeled after that.

 

Will be interesting to keep an eye on the secondary market pricing in the coming weeks for sure to see if there is a jump.

[Shilgy]

6 hours ago, grm24 said:

Actual numbers say otherwise. Phil was T57 in driving accuracy this week. 55.4% of his fairways.

 

https://www.pgachampionship.com/player/phil-mickelson

Would you prefer - tee shots in play percentage?  For instance 72nd hole was a missed fairway but on the proper said and very much in play. Louis had quite a few more trouble tee shots.

[callawayjay]

My logically opinion of top 3 stems from his being lucky (or unlucky depending on your point of view) to have had to go against Tiger his entire career. 45 wins during tiger’s time is a pretty impressive feat when tiger himself has nearly 90. 130 wins total between them in 30 years, that’s nearly 5 Per year average for the pair. Snead and hogan weren’t chasing the greatest player ever. In my opinion going against tiger is what made him better on the back half of his career. 

[Ronnie Mundt]

Good for Phil but jury is out for me on that course. Winning score of -6 was great, but the PGA is going to need to re-thinking if the bomb and gouge will work on a 7800 yard course.

 

you shouldn’t be able to bail left on the final hole of a major, hitting a 50 yard slice, and have a chip 9iron in for an easy two putt to win. Will I guess being able is one thing, but that was an easy bailout for the players just smashing it towards the grandstands.

[Ferguson]

22 minutes ago, Duct Tape said:

Well, I’m an MD, sometimes certifiable, especially when my wife tells me I’m playing either too little or too much golf, often on the same day - but I don’t know where to begin to answer this question.  If there even is one. 

 

You are clearly an MD.  You provided a thoughtful answer without giving an answer.  

Well done.  

 

 

 

 

Let's try this again, shall we: 

Does a "level of fitness" provide an edge in winning over 50?   

 

I would say no for two reasons:

 

1. The 2003 BC Open

2. Gary Player never won in his 50's.  

 

 

[cmatthews77]

For a equipment junkie site not enough (or that I’ve seen) has been talked about on the incredible equipment strategy he used here to help get this done. 
 

I mean how crazy was this driver setup…

Essentially he had an 11 degree mini-driver (a circa mid-90s driver) for the majority of his tee balls. 

Then he came in here with a 48” long (3” longer than tour avg driver length) at 5.5 or 6 degrees for when he absolutely needed to let one go (like 16 yesterday). I mean think about the talent to swing a 48” 6 degree driver effectively in major championship golf conditions. Crazy!! Bryson gets a ton of attention for that stuff but Phil is still the all time equipment tinkerer (modern times). 
 

If that’s not enough his driving iron breaks on the range and he has to go to a 4-wood that he hadn’t used all week. Not having that driving iron was what likely put him in that short left bunker on the early par 3 that of course he went on to hole out. 

[Ferguson]

Top 5 google searches this morning: 

 

 

1. Phil's putter

2. Phil's sunglasses

3. Phil's wife not there, why?  Did she think he was going to stumble again? 

4. Grilled Cheese hack on the tik tok

5.  Is it Bruce or Brooks?

[jwhite86]

46 minutes ago, NJBigFish22 said:

All the hate for Brooks is laughable to me, the guy played bad, was injured coming in and the PGA should have had better security, they should have known or planned for if Phil won.  So BK is a sore loser, Tiger had plenty of moments when he was a sore loser, but most people don’t care if he is a jerk in a presser after finishing 2nd.

 

I couldn't imagine how I'd react finishing 2nd, after being swarmed by a bunch of idiots... all while having a bad knee... The Brooks hate runs wild here

 

As for Phil, he played great... It was incredible to watch

[thed0n]

13 hours ago, tiderider said:

he just best the youngsters on a big course ... but he's out to pasture now? ... wow ... 

Lightening in a bottle.

[Ironman_32]

14 minutes ago, cmatthews77 said:

For a equipment junkie site not enough (or that I’ve seen) has been talked about on the incredible equipment strategy he used here to help get this done. 
 

I mean how crazy was this driver setup…

Essentially he had an 11 degree mini-driver (a circa mid-90s driver) for the majority of his tee balls. 

Then he came in here with a 48” long (3” longer than tour avg driver length) at 5.5 or 6 degrees for when he absolutely needed to let one go (like 16 yesterday). I mean think about the talent to swing a 48” 6 degree driver effectively in major championship golf conditions. Crazy!! Bryson gets a ton of attention for that stuff but Phil is still the all time equipment tinkerer (modern times). 
 

If that’s not enough his driving iron breaks on the range and he has to go to a 4-wood that he hadn’t used all week. Not having that driving iron was what likely put him in that short left bunker on the early par 3 that of course he went on to hole out. 

Good points. 

 

Out of all the Phil things, and I guess in golf in a way, a big thing that doesn't get talked about is how in 2006 Phil put 2 drivers in the bag, one a tournament by 13 strokes, then won the Masters the next week, and then basically stopped doing it; and no one copied that. Goes with somewhat the same strategy this week and wins. I mean, Bryson starts swinging harder and even Rory admits to trying to copy it, kind of surprised no one has gone to two drivers at all (maybe Stenson is the closes to doing it).  

[Superbrit]

23 minutes ago, Ronnie Mundt said:

Good for Phil but jury is out for me on that course. Winning score of -6 was great, but the PGA is going to need to re-thinking if the bomb and gouge will work on a 7800 yard course.

 

you shouldn’t be able to bail left on the final hole of a major, hitting a 50 yard slice, and have a chip 9iron in for an easy two putt to win. Will I guess being able is one thing, but that was an easy bailout for the players just smashing it towards the grandstands.

Did you not watch the first 3 days when the wind was the other way? No one was hitting 9 irons to that green

[Ironman_32]

27 minutes ago, Ronnie Mundt said:

Good for Phil but jury is out for me on that course. Winning score of -6 was great, but the PGA is going to need to re-thinking if the bomb and gouge will work on a 7800 yard course.

 

you shouldn’t be able to bail left on the final hole of a major, hitting a 50 yard slice, and have a chip 9iron in for an easy two putt to win. Will I guess being able is one thing, but that was an easy bailout for the players just smashing it towards the grandstands.

True. Its interesting that on the longest major course ever, the very top of the leaderboard was fun of "older" guys (Phil, Louie, Paddy). But a good mix overall, some younger guys, some older. Harry Higgs was high on the leaderboard and is 78th in driving distance. 

[Ironman_32]

13 minutes ago, jwhite86 said:

 

I couldn't imagine how I'd react finishing 2nd, after being swarmed by a bunch of idiots... all while having a bad knee... The Brooks hate runs wild here

 

True. I don't think fans fully understand how much work he's putting in on the knee or how bad it really is. Imagine you're down on yourself, like I should have made that put on 3, or should have played the par fives better, then on top of that someone comes up on the last hole and punches you in a body part that hurts. 

[tiderider]

41 minutes ago, Ronnie Mundt said:

Good for Phil but jury is out for me on that course. Winning score of -6 was great, but the PGA is going to need to re-thinking if the bomb and gouge will work on a 7800 yard course.

 

you shouldn’t be able to bail left on the final hole of a major, hitting a 50 yard slice, and have a chip 9iron in for an easy two putt to win. Will I guess being able is one thing, but that was an easy bailout for the players just smashing it towards the grandstands.

?? ... they played 3 other rounds on that course this week ... 

[dalehead]

28 minutes ago, Ferguson said:

 

You are clearly an MD.  You provided a thoughtful answer without giving an answer.  

Well done.  

 

 

 

 

Let's try this again, shall we: 

Does a "level of fitness" provide an edge in winning over 50?   

 

I would say no for two reasons:

 

1. The 2003 BC Open

2. Gary Player never won in his 50's.  

 

 

Good job digging up the 2003 BC Open! But that event, when it was part of the regular rather than the senior tour, attracted a pretty weak field on a weak golf course. The list of its winners is rife with journeymen and one hit wonders. Somebody like Stadler winning at 50 was no great surprise.

 

In his 50’s Gary Player had given up the regular tour for the senior tour. Obviously can’t speak for Gary, but that may have been more physiological than physical. There was then, even more than now, a perception that a golfer’s tour career was over at 50 and it was time for the senior tour. Phil’s win may break that barrier in the same way that Roger Bannister broke the psychological barrier of the 4 minute mile.

 

As for level of fitness providing an advantage over the age of 50, I can say from personal experience absolutely it does. Especially flexibility. And stamina is also a factor. Deficiency in either of those prevents your body from doing what you want it to do. A problem that gets worse with age.

[Str8Putt]

2 hours ago, bscinstnct said:

 

I zoomed this pic From one of the articles you shared.

 

For some perspective on being in the thick of the scene 

 

 

 

 

 

Security screwed up letting people this close. It's only been a year with no fans. I know they haven't forgot how to keep people at a distance. 

That guy should've been jerked away and given some turf loving 

[3whacker]

1 hour ago, Ronnie Mundt said:

Good for Phil but jury is out for me on that course. Winning score of -6 was great, but the PGA is going to need to re-thinking if the bomb and gouge will work on a 7800 yard course.

 

you shouldn’t be able to bail left on the final hole of a major, hitting a 50 yard slice, and have a chip 9iron in for an easy two putt to win. Will I guess being able is one thing, but that was an easy bailout for the players just smashing it towards the grandstands.

you easily forgot that Louis among others snapped a drive left into the hospitality area, got a generous free drop and also made par on that hole on either Fri or Sat, I also think Keegan did it in one of the early rounds. It was the only poor set up on the course all week long

[me05501]

26 minutes ago, Str8Putt said:

Security screwed up letting people this close. It's only been a year with no fans. I know they haven't forgot how to keep people at a distance. 

That guy should've been jerked away and given some turf loving 

 

 

It looked like the event was relying far too much on volunteers and too little on actual security people. 

[dalehead]

1 hour ago, Ronnie Mundt said:

Good for Phil but jury is out for me on that course. Winning score of -6 was great, but the PGA is going to need to re-thinking if the bomb and gouge will work on a 7800 yard course.

 

you shouldn’t be able to bail left on the final hole of a major, hitting a 50 yard slice, and have a chip 9iron in for an easy two putt to win. Will I guess being able is one thing, but that was an easy bailout for the players just smashing it towards the grandstands.

With a 2 shot lead on the 18th making sure if he missed it was to the left was the only reasonable strategy for Phil. If he, or someone else, like Brooks, needed a birdie they would play the hole more aggressively.

[dalehead]

1 minute ago, me05501 said:

 

 

It looked like the event was relying far too much on volunteers and too little on actual security people. 

How much “actual security” do you need to handle a crowd that size? The National Guard? The cops who were accompanying Phil and Brooks did their best to surround them coming down 18, but the sheer numbers of people were overwhelming.

[Ferguson]

43 minutes ago, dalehead said:

Good job digging up the 2003 BC Open! But that event, when it was part of the regular rather than the senior tour, attracted a pretty weak field on a weak golf course. The list of its winners is rife with journeymen and one hit wonders. Somebody like Stadler winning at 50 was no great surprise.

 

In his 50’s Gary Player had given up the regular tour for the senior tour. Obviously can’t speak for Gary, but that may have been more physiological than physical. There was then, even more than now, a perception that a golfer’s tour career was over at 50 and it was time for the senior tour. Phil’s win may break that barrier in the same way that Roger Bannister broke the psychological barrier of the 4 minute mile.

 

As for level of fitness providing an advantage over the age of 50, I can say from personal experience absolutely it does. Especially flexibility. And stamina is also a factor. Deficiency in either of those prevents your body from doing what you want it to do. A problem that gets worse with age.

 

Clearly, you are not an MD.  You provided entirely too much detail, offered something from personal experience and you successfully answered the question.   Well done.

 

 

 

[Hattie Pants]

1 hour ago, Ironman_32 said:

True. I don't think fans fully understand how much work he's putting in on the knee or how bad it really is. Imagine you're down on yourself, like I should have made that put on 3, or should have played the par fives better, then on top of that someone comes up on the last hole and punches you in a body part that hurts. 

There is a 0% chance a fan ran up and punched, kicked, kneed or anything elsed on brooks knee. He’s being a giant lady part. Complain about your knee if you missed the cut by 8 and can’t get through anything. Don’t finish 2nd on a course like that hitting 350 yard drives and then wane on and on about your knee. Let the media make excuses for you, they were more than ready to. There’s a reason he was so well um not sure what actually happened I don’t know in his interview. Nothing happened. He was flailing around for excuses sounding like a baby. 
 

No issue with him being pissed, sore loser, 100% get it and understandable. Don’t make up fake crowd junk and complain about your knee after finishing 2nd, I’m sure it hurts, but it was good enough to win. 

[Ferguson]

Stadler,  2003 BC Open, History!

 

 

[RainShadow]

2 hours ago, NJBigFish22 said:

All the hate for Brooks is laughable to me, the guy played bad, was injured coming in and the PGA should have had better security, they should have known or planned for if Phil won.  So BK is a sore loser, Tiger had plenty of moments when he was a sore loser, but most people don’t care if he is a jerk in a presser after finishing 2nd.

 Well, a lot of folks didn't like Tiger for the same reason......

[sneaky_pete]

I've always been a bit indifferent to Phil.  I think it's that half smart grin he has on his face all the time and the tip of the hat - never really did anything for me.  The "fan moved my ball" incident didn't need to happen, especially when the spectator said it it was further up the hill and rolled down a foot or two when it was dropped and Phil moves it like two inches.  He should have played it where it lies and just got on with it.  Soured a great moment in sport for mine.  Great result for Phil and golf in general.  

 

I still reckon Tigers win at The Masters is my greatest golfing moment, maybe even sporting moment.  I'd never been a fan of Tiger either, didn't like him at all, but it was wonderful to see him complete the comeback after he was so far gone it was doubtful he'd even swing a club again.  Never been so happy for someone and I was on the edge of my seat just willing him to win that thing.  Awesome and unforgettable and I have a new respect for him and his achievements.  Hope we see him out there again and competing.

 

50 isn't old.  We've recently seen some great performances by Westwood, Harrington, Cink, Mickelson, Stricker, Casey probably plenty of others too.  I don't think any of them have lost any speed and are still getting it out there like they always have.  Sure the younger guys are more powerful, and hit the ball further, but we've seen that a power game isn't the path to certain victory every week.  A power game and physique like Bryson's and Koepka's isn't something they are going to be able to maintain well into their forties - they are going to have adjust their games over time to cope with age, if their bodies are still functioning properly to even do it.  I don't see that age would have affected the mental side of players games in their 40's and 50's either, in fact they probably have an advantage in terms of experience.  I think the biggest factor for older players that affects performance the most is the stuff outside the game.  As you get older you get married, have families etc. so the balance between golf and your responsibilities at home probably takes more away from you than anything else - life isn't just all about golf anymore and you don't have the time to dedicate to the game you did when you were in your twenties.