Just got an email from the good folks over at Forbes.com.
They wanted to give me the heads up that our man Phil will be on their new list of the most powerful celebrities.
Here is the email:
Hello — Just wanted to give you a heads up that Phil Mickelson will be featured on this year’s edition of the Forbes Celebrity 100, our annual ranking of the most powerful celebrities in movies, television, sports and publishing. The list comes out on Monday, June 28 at 6 PM on http://www.forbes.com. We’ll send you a note Monday when it is live so you’ll be among the first have access to it. Hope you’ll take a look, and maybe share it with friends and followers who might also enjoy the list.
I never liked Tiger, even before he got in trouble. But in a new article out on ABC, Ernie Els is quoted as saying, “Phil is probably the man to beat now” and “Phil is hitting it as long, or longer, than anybody out there”.
Phil Mickelson, a four-times winner worldwide last year, can now be bracketed alongside top-ranked Tiger Woods in all departments of the game, according to Ernie Els.
Mickelson finished his 2009 campaign in barn-storming fashion, clinching the PGA Tour‘s season-ending Tour Championship in September and the WGC-HSBC Champions in China in November.
In each of those high-profile tournaments, left-hander Mickelson overshadowed his more illustrious American rival Woods, and South African Els took careful notice.
“Phil is probably the man to beat now,” former world number one Els said at this week’s Sony Open on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
“Even if you ask Tiger, I think Phil has got right to his level throughout his game. There is a new guy we got to chase.
“The way Phil played at the end of last year … he played with Tiger in Shanghai and won the tournament there on the final hole. The Tour Championship he won coming from behind.”
What a great finish yesterday for Phil at the WGC. Lefty held off Watney to win the World Golf Chanmpionship for the first time.
This makes him number two in the world rankings, bumping ahead of Sergio Garcia. There is also a chance that he could pass Tiger before the Masters. How good would that be?
The other story is that Phil was deathly ill the whole weekend. He thinks he may have eaten something that made him sick. So sick that he had to go to the hospital and get two bags of IV fluid.
Phil played 27 holes at Augusta National last Tuesday in preparation for the upcoming Masters Tournament. Even though Lefty has played the course hundreds of times in his career, he still calls it one of his favorite courses.
In an article over at Golf DigestButch Harmon says that Phil Mickelson will be ready for Augusta. I sure hope so. Nothing would make me happier than to watch Phil Mickelson win his third Masters. Go Phil!
Since swing coach Butch Harmon took Phil Mickelson under his wing, there have been some changes made. Mickelson improved, won five times starting with his come-from-behind victory at the 2007 Players, Harmon’s first full week on the job. But Mickelson still recognized he needed more help and Harmon has constantly been working on Mickelson’s swing to make his misses smaller.
But close Phil-watchers realize there are additional alterations being made in a player who continues to be a work in progress. For instance, under Harmon’s tutelage, Mickelson tries red wine, but only about once a month. Butch said Mickelson’s palate is trending toward Bordeaux, especially Chateau Margaux. Actually, this is quite a nice neighborhood to visit, if a bottle from the 1982 vintage sounds right, at its going rate of about $1,195. Think about it. If somebody named Butch is whispering in your ear that a bottle of wine might really be worth four figures, you have to believe he’s on to something.
And now, with the Masters just around the corner, Harmon said that Mickelson is going to be someone to be reckoned with again. He could be on to something there, too. There’s a chance it’s going to be vintage Phil.
In dramatic fashion, our favorite PGA tour player, Phil Mickelson, won the Northern Trust open today by one shot over Steve Stricker.
If you watched in on TV you know how exciting it was. Phil started with a 4 stroke lead, gave it all away and then some, only to get make back to back birdies on 16 and 17 to win it all.
Padraig Harrington and other European players to play more events in the US. Phil believes that this will help to keep golf enthusiasts interested int eh game, even in the current economic downturn. It certainly can’t hurt.