Golf Talk Canada: Phil Mickelson skipping U.S. Open a mistake

Mark Zecchino is the host of TSN’s Golf Talk Canada and the play-by-play voice of PGA Tour Radio on Sirius/XM. All this week we will be previewing the major storylines surrounding the U.S. Open with Zecchino on Tip of the Tower.

Last week, Phil Mickelson announced he will be skipping the U.S Open to attend his daughter’s high school graduation where she will be the valedictorian. Many have applauded Phil for his family first attitude.

However, not everybody is applauding the decision seeing that the U.S Open is the only major that Mickelson has yet to win. He has come in second on six different occasions and he turns 47 years old this week, so he could be running out of time to achieve his career Grand Slam.

In an interview with Mark Zecchino, who is the host of TSN’s Golf Talk Canada and the play-by-play voice of PGA Tour Radio on Sirius/XM, we discussed some key storylines surrounding the U.S Open. He is one of few analysts who thinks Mickelson is making a mistake by not playing this weekend.

Here is Zecchino’s take on the Mickelson situation:

Most people have been patting Phil on the back and talking about what a great father he is, but I’ll be the champion of horrible human beings here because I think the decision is ridiculous. He has six-second place finishes in the U.S Open and a few more top fives in this event and it’s the only major championship he has never won.

Father time is ticking away and he needs to add this to his resume to join golfing immortality. It is so rare to be able to accomplish the feat of winning all four majors.

You would think perhaps his family would try and convince him to play, but nobody knows what the conversation is behind closed doors. But I find it shocking that this is the decision the family is going with.

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This is an age that you don’t have to physically be there to participate. Couldn’t he stream the speech to his laptop or watch online somewhere?

This is the U.S Open and it’s a very difficult course, but it has some of the widest fairways we’ve ever seen in U.S Open history. Nobody has an advantage heading in, but if I like Mickelson at any golf course it’s certainly a course that has some room off the tee and this is it.

That’s part one of the Mickelson saga but part two is how he is handling the whole situation. He said that he is not attending, but he hasn’t officially withdrawn yet.

It’s shocking because he still has his name in the third to last grouping which will tee-off at 2:20 pm. He is hoping for a weather delay of around four hours so he can fly in his private jet from California to Wisconsin.

Keep in mind he wouldn’t get a practice round in and he has never seen or played Erin Hills, so he would have to rely solely on his caddy Jim “Bones” MacKay’s experience with the course.

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Regardless, it’s ridiculous that he is waiting until the eleventh hour to make his decision and is basically holding the alternate player hostage with his decision. This is a ball drop from start to finish.

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