Phil Mickelson’s an incurable smartass.
Tiger Woods hasn’t always appreciated the trait over the years. But he got another dose of Mickelson’s mischievous sense of humor Wednesday when Lefty was asked about the 62 Woods shot on Sunday at the Honda Classic.
“Obviously he was paying attention a couple of weeks ago, which is nice to see,” said Mickelson, referring to the final round at the AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach, when he schooled Woods, shooting 64 to win the tournament.
Playing alongside him, Woods could muster only a hapless 75.
After seeing some serious faces in the media center at the Cadillac Championship after his quip, Mickelson made a gesture with his hand, as if to suggest he may have gone over some of the journalists’ heads.
“At least I thought it was funny,” he said.
But will Woods?
The two will lock horns again this week at venerable Doral, where the world’s best players — including freshly minted No. 1, Rory McIlroy — will play together for the last time before next month’s Masters.
Mickelson skipped the Accenture Match Play in Tucson, Ariz., two weeks ago and didn’t play at the Honda Classic, but is coming off the win at Pebble Beach and a playoff loss to Bill Haas at Riviera.
Suffice to say that the 41-year-old is brimming with confidence.
“As far as Pebble, that was a big final round because it had been a while since I won,” he said. “It did a lot to boost my confidence and also gave me a lot of motivation to work hard and excitement for the upcoming events.”
He was very clear about why he’s feeling good about his game.
“This is a different year for one simple reason, my putter is back,” he said. “I hit the ball great the last couple of years, and this year I can roll it again and it feels terrific. I believe I’m going to make them even when I don’t.”
Conversely, the putter’s the club that has mostly been holding back Woods. But, as shooting 62 suggests, there were signs of life last Sunday at PGA National.
Although Woods is from Southern California, and grew up on poa annua greens, he’s lived in Florida since 1996 and seems more comfortable on bermuda grass greens.
He’s won at Doral three times, but none since the greens were redone four years ago. Woods putts a lot by memory, and the new greens have fooled him.
“It’s just the old reads,” he said. “The grain is different, and each year I’ve gotten a little bit better at reading them.”
But he noted ruefully that just as he’s getting to know the greens, they’ll be dug up again in two years by Doral’s new owner, Donald Trump, who’s having the Blue Monster redesigned.
Woods was clearly happy with his barnstorming Sunday at the Honda Classic, but wasn’t getting carried away with what it might mean for the Cadillac Championship.
“It doesn’t count. That tournament’s over with,” he said.
“I hit a bunch of good shots, and made a nice little run at them on Sunday, which was good. But we are here, a new week, a new tournament site.”
Woods has been steadfast in his view that his game is improving under the tutelage of Sean Foley.
On Wednesday, he spoke about the need to broaden what he’s working on now that he feels confident about the full swing. This year he’s been far better from long distances than short.
“I’m in a position now where I can start dedicating a little more time to other aspects of my game,” Woods said. “I still can’t neglect what I do on the range, (but) I can also start delegating a little bit more time to my chipping and my putting, and the short game itself.”
Woods said that he and Foley isolated the long game — particularly getting off the tee — as their priority.
“We had to dedicate so much time to driving and getting the ball in the fairway. Hence, I’m No. 1 in total driving. We fixed that,” he said. “Now it’s on to other aspects of the game. You have to take up and focus on the weaknesses, make them strengths.
“We’ve done that, and we still have some more weaknesses to look at and to fix.”
As always, Woods is gearing his game up for the Masters. After Doral, his final lead-in tournament will be at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill in two weeks.
Does he feel on track for Augusta?
“Absolutely,” Woods answered.
We shall see.
He’s never won the Masters without winning a lead-in tournament beforehand.
