LEMONT, Ill. -- We'll probably never understand.
But Ernie Els is willing to give it a go anyway.
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| Fans didn't get to watch Ernie Els last weekend. (Getty Images) |
Like the rest of us, Els had no particular insight into Mickelson's personal thought process, motivation or reasoning for bailing out of the third event in the admittedly much-feted, seemingly ill-fated FedEx run, other than by sharing his own experiences. After all, last week, Els played hooky himself and stayed home with his family in England. A week earlier, Tiger Woods spent the week on his yacht instead of playing in the FedEx opener in New York. "I'm sure what I did, what Phil did and what Tiger did is not what the tour intended," Els said, pausing between shots on the steamy BMW practice range. "But I tell you, man, it's been a long summer."
It's getting progressively hotter, as it turns out.
Mickelson, like Els before him, begged out of this week's FedEx fare, claiming he wanted to spend more time with his family. British Open champion Padraig Harrington also bailed out of the BMW Tuesday, claiming fatigue and burnout, the same issues cited earlier by Woods.
For three weeks, the sports-talk circuits have been filled with the usual adjectives to describe Mickelson and his privileged ilk: Coddled, over-indulged, pampered and wimpy. Civilians out there, the folks toting lunch boxes or wearing hardhats, will never relate. Best as he can, though, Els would like to help you wrap your collective head around his heart.
Els, who has assuredly logged more air miles globetrotting around the world than any other active player, doesn't bother denying that modern tour stars, with their G-5 private jets, cadre of coaches, managers, nannies and courtesy cars, have it made like never before. But until you have walked a mile in his spikes, hear him out and keep an open mind. You might not regret it.
Spoiled? He doesn't dispute it.
"Everybody has a point," Els said. "I know what we do isn't going down a mineshaft every day, working nine miles under the earth. It's not heavy lifting. But there is a mental strain and stress with this job that a lot of people don't appreciate."
For instance, Mickelson had played seven of the past nine weeks in two countries. Harrington played six of the past seven weeks, including a grueling playoff victory in Scotland to win his first major. Had Woods played in the FedEx opener, he would have played in seven of nine weeks through the playoff run.
"It's all relative," Els said.
There's nothing Els can say to communicate, in layman's terms, what top players experience on a weekly basis. Cops and bank guards get shot at, he said, and tour pros' biggest risk is probably sunburn. But the average working stiff gets to go home to his family at night, not another bland hotel room or rented home.
