SOUTHPORT, England -- In some ways, he's like another well-known lefty, a former mop-topped kid who hails from the notable town situated a few minutes down the coast, Liverpool.
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| Phil Mickelson hasn't had great luck in the British Open but is looking to turn that around this weekend. (AP) |
Phil Mickelson can relate. No matter what hits he has penned with the tools of his trade, Mickelson has always stood in the long shadow of Tiger Woods.
It brings to mind a Beatles live recording released a few years back in an anthology boxed set, when Lennon deadpanned into the stage microphone as he introduced a fresh new tune that was to be performed for the first time by his songwriting sidekick, "For Paul McCartney, opportunity knocks."
It's karaoke night at the British Open, Phil, and it's time to croon, not croak. Step out of the Cavern Club and into the daylight, because your time is nigh.
"I think there is a tremendous opportunity for guys to finish the year strong," Mickelson said this week.
The absence of Woods, out indefinitely after knee surgery, is vast and palpable, to be sure. But for somebody like Mickelson, one man's void is another's opening. This is an unequivocal, indisputable, irrevocable fact: No player has more to gain over the short term than Mickelson, who for the first time in more than a decade no longer must play second fiddle to anyone.
With two more major championships among a possible seven starts remaining in his 2008 season, Mickelson could, with a three-month rush, completely remake his portfolio, reinvent himself and vanquish more than a few personal ghosts. Not that he's remotely prepared to discuss them.
"I've got a lot of golf coming about," he said this week at Royal Birkdale. "Those factors are the last factors on my mind."
They are, however, on ours. We're not talking about the stuff of asterisks -- some have already suggested that winning tournaments with Woods on the sideline will lessen their impact. This is about career-building and the bigger picture.
At the end of the day, not to mention the end of a guy's career, achievement is judged by more than total victories. While Mickelson has amassed a fantastic 34, including three major titles, while starring in the deepest era in the sport's history, the rest of his professional resume is as lacking as English orthodonture.
Starting this week at the British, the door not only is cracked but stands wide open. In at least five areas, both Mickelson's persona and portfolio can be utterly reshaped by what he does this summer and fall.
Let's Phil in the blanks, pun absolutely intended:
