“Here you go sweetie.”
And with that, Phil Mickelson handed his golf ball to a young girl straddling the rope line just past the second hole Saturday during the third round of The Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance.
Mickelson, who was fist-bumping with young and old throughout his round at Muirfield Village Golf Club, handed over eight more balls to kids by the time he putted out on the 18th hole.
Before the round he had a playful exchange with colleague Robert Garrigus. During the round, he had a smile for everyone despite hitting into the water on 9 and finishing bogey-bogey. After the round, he signed autographs for 15 minutes.
In other words, it was Phil being Phil as he played on despite being under investigation by the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission for alleged insider trading.
As distractions go, this is a pretty big one.
Mickelson, who hasn’t won since last year’s British Open and is off to the worst PGA Tour start of his career, said the probe had not been a distraction until Thursday night, when two FBI agents approached him near the clubhouse locker room after his opening round. He shot 70 the next day for his best round this week and followed with a 72 Saturday.
Mickelson, who trails leader Bubba Watson by 10 shots and needs to go really low Sunday if he is to notch his first top-10 of the season, said he told the agents to speak to his attorney.
“I think that as a player you have to be able to block out whatever is going on off the golf course and be able to focus on the golf course,” said Mickelson, one of the highest-earning athletes in the world, who said he is cooperating with the investigation. “And it’s not going to change the way I carry myself. Honestly, I’ve done nothing wrong. I’m not going to walk around any other way.”
That’s how he’s carried himself during his World Golf Hall of Fame career. Whether it be hardship or heartache outside the ropes, he’s been stellar inside the ropes, as his ability to compartmentalize is one reason he’s won 42 Tour titles (ninth all time) and five major championships.
In the 1999 U.S. Open, when he lost by one shot to Payne Stewart, he carried a beeper and was set to leave the tournament if his wife, Amy, went into labor with the couple’s first child.
When he won his first major at the 2004 Masters, ending a 0-for-42 span in majors that rritated him for nearly 10 years, the triumph came months after Amy nearly died while giving birth to the couple’s third child, Evan.
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SOURCE:Â Steve DiMeglio
USA TODAY Sports
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