Where have you been, Phil?
Sadly, the answer is the same place Phil Mickelson's been at every Ryder Cup since 2004.
Missing in action.
Years ago, Bear Bryant was asked why he chose to go back to coach his struggling alma mater when he'd built Texas A&M into a strong college football contender.
"Mama called," the Alabama legend responded.
Well, Mickelson's country called at Celtic Manor. It turned out to be the wrong number.
Corey Pavin needed something — ANYTHING — out of the No. 2 player in the world, with Colin Montgomerie's confident Europeans lifted on the wings of a vociferous home crowd.
What he's gotten is three losses.
Mickelson is one of only two players here from either side — Dustin Johnson, with whom he partnered in the first two sessions, is the other — to not have any points at all going into Monday‘s singles matches.
Now it's true that golfers have bad weeks. But why is it that Mickelson seems to save them up for the Ryder Cup?
In the last four editions of the world's most anticipated team golf competition, Mickelson has won just two of 17 matches. A staggering 12 of those were lost.
Mickelson's latest loss on Sunday, partnering with rookie Rickie Fowler in a four-ball game, was the 17th of his career, propelling him past Raymond Floyd as the American with most losses in Ryder Cup history.
What was most aggravating about the loss is that Fowler had virtually single-handedly kept them within striking distance in their match against the formidable due of Ian Poulter and Martin Kaymer.
Mickelson then came to life with a birdie on the par-3 13th to get the Americans back to even after they'd been 3 down after eight holes.
As the Europeans were surging in the day's five other matches — the Americans never once led in four of them — Pavin hoped to get something out of the anchor match.
But with Fowler in his pocket on the next hole, Mickelson proceeded to three-putt — ironically, mimicking Johnson, who'd done the same thing a little earlier — to hand the lead back to the Europeans, who gratefully won the 14th with a simple par.
Mickelson then missed a short birdie putt on the next — Poulter made his from a similar distance — and that was that. A 2-and-1 loss.
"You could see different things could have happened with (that match)," Pavin said.
Instead, Pavin presided over one of the worst single-day massacres in Ryder Cup history as the Europeans won 5-1/2 of the six points.
After, though, he defended Mickelson, saying his star left-hander had been "playing hard."
"He's had a few six-footers that were very key putts, and if he makes those, it's a different result," Pavin said.
So now we're living in the make-believe world of "ifs?"
Quite apart from the absurdity of talking about what could have been, is it not the point of winning in golf, sinking the six-footers when they have to be made?
"Ryder Cup is interesting stuff," Pavin continued. "I've seen great players lose matches that you never think they would, (and) I've seen players that you wouldn't give much chance do some amazing things."
A diplomatic Montgomerie — as only a captain with a 9.5-6.5 lead going into the singles could do — explained Mickelson's futility as "luck of the draw."
Hard luck, maybe. However, Montgomerie couldn't help himself after Pavin revealed that the two top-ranked players in the world, Mickelson and Tiger Woods, were batting way down the order on Monday.
"It does surprise me," Monty said.
With the Europeans holding a three-point lead and top-loading their order to try to finish off the Americans early, Pavin inserted Woods, who suffered his worst defeat in Ryder Cup history, 6-and-5 Sunday, into the eighth slot and Mickelson into the 10th.
In other words, the Ryder Cup could be lost before they have a chance to do anything about it.
The singles draw fails, too, in terms of marquee matchups. There are three Europeans who would've made interesting opponents for Woods.
Rory McIlroy, with whom he's had a spat, the brilliant Lee Westwood —-their match could've served as an unofficial battle for the world No. 1 ranking — or Poulter, whose cockiness would be sure to aggravate Woods.
Instead, he will play Italy's soft-spoken Francesco Molinari.
Yawn.
Mickelson gets Swede Peter Hanson in a match that's certain not to move the needle much, either.
The Americans have come back from this kind of deficit before; indeed, it was worse at Brookline in 1999, the Europeans leading 10-6 going into the singles.
But Monty's not going to allow complacency to sabotage what he sees as his crowning moment.
"Brookline was mentioned in the locker room," he said.
"Our goal is to win the singles session as if it's tied tomorrow and there will be nobody backing down from that goal."
Mickelson, meanwhile, was left clutching at the straws of Brookline.
"There have been special days, and we are going to need another one," he said.
If Phil had played to his potential, maybe he wouldn't need to be praying for miracles.
