Hard work has Mickelson ready to defend
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Phil Mickelson says he is a changed man. And not just because he's an inch taller, either.
As he comes back to TPC Sawgrass this week to defend his PLAYERS Championship title, Mickelson feels his game is totally different thanks to the work he has done on his swing with Butch Harmon during the last year.
Now when Mickelson misses a fairway, his ball isn't in never-never land. He hones in on the target better, too. And if his putter continues to cooperate like it did last week at the Wachovia Championship where he finished tied for 12th, Mickelson may very well become the first back-to-back winner in PLAYERS history.
A year ago when he made up a one-stroke deficit with a 69 on Sunday to win by two, Mickelson was in the first month of his partnership with Harmon. Twelve months later, he feels like he and his instructor are totally in sync.
"My driving of the golf ball has been totally different," Mickelson said. "My misses have been much smaller than I had been used to, and my sight lines have been moved in tighter inside the fairway lines as opposed to starting outside. All that has changed. I'm excited about that."
In adapting to the new swing thoughts, though, Mickelson acknowledges that he may have neglected what was already an impressive short game. His putting, in particular, has suffered, so he's rededicating himself to putting guru Dave Pelz.
"I have not had as many wins as I would have liked," said Mickelson, who made the Northern Trust Open his 33rd victory earlier this year. "I can't look at that as being a long game problem. ...
"I think in the effort to improve my long game, my short game has suffered a little bit. Chipping has come around to where chipping is back to the level I expect, and putting is getting there. And as soon as I put them all together, I expect to have some really good consistent play."
Stewart Cink, another Harmon protégé, has noticed the different in his Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup teammate.
"I think first I saw a big change when he started working with Dave Pelz," Cink said. "His short game has always been phenomenal, but he really took his talent and dialed it in. It really benefited him. Next step he took was when he started working with Butch and he really hemmed in his golf game, his long game.
"His swing used to get really long and really unmatched. You want to match your upper body and your lower body and he just got really out of sync. Now I think he's much more matched up, and he's more consistent off the tee. He has rounds now where he hits 10, 11 fairways, a lot more often. A lot of guys, that's routine for them. For guys like Phil and me, it's not the routine. So it's nice to thrown in rounds like that when you know you're probably going to have another round where you probably hit 4 or 5."
At the TPC Sawgrass, though, a spot-on short game will be crucial. Mickelson says he's never seen Bermuda greens in as pristine shape, and he likes the subtle changes completed last year that require a variety of shots around the greens.
"Now there's so many mown out areas that you can chip, you can putt, you can lob it," said Mickelson, who prior to winning had just two top 10s in 14 starts at the Stadium Course. "It's a tough challenge around the greens, but skill is a big part of it. I look forward to this tournament every year now because my chances of being in contention and my chances of winning have gone up greatly."
Especially when his flat stick cooperates. Mickelson lengthened his putter an inch-and-a-half because he said his stretching and fitness routine added height to his 6-foot-3 frame. He has also worked to square up his face angle throughout the putt.
Mickelson's trainer, Sean Cochran, says his client has been much more consistent in his workouts during the last year. The functional weight training, as well as flexibility, core and balance work, has noticeably changed Mickelson's physique -- just as Harmon has changed his swing.
"The media and fan base are obviously aware aesthetically that he lost weight and I think he plays better. He's very happy with it," Cochran said. "I know it's been stated that he's taller and actually that's true.
"If you look at the physiology, if you do a lot of stretching you get expansion and extension of the spine, which can increase your height. We all know the tendency is, as we get older, we get shorter since the spine tends to compress because of gravity and our posture tends to be poor. As a result of his training, conditioning, strength training and work, he created extension in his spine and probably has better posture now. Those two components led to the idea that he's increased in height."
At the Wachovia Championship, Mickelson needed a total of 105 putts, including just 26 in the first round when he opened with a 68. For the week, Mickelson ranked 20th in putting, 10th in putts per green in regulation and 29th in driving accuracy -- a balanced performance.
"Last week my putting was so much better," Mickelson said. "Every putt started on line, good speed. I expect to have a great week this week because it's getting better as time goes on. When we finish (this interview), I'll spend some time with Pelz getting acclimated to the speeds and reads, and that's the area that will determine whether or how I finish in this year's event."
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