Phil? Is That You?

Up until Phil held the trophy Sunday, I admit that I had no faith that he'd pull it out. As brilliantly as he played at times, there's never anything certain about a Phil Mickelson victory in the making. There's no inevitability to the outcome. Things could easily go south, or a surging Jeff Quinney, or JB Holmes, or Sean O'Hair could leave Phil holding the runner-up silver bowl. But Phil showed us something on Sunday - he won at Riviera. He took the match. He reached up and grabbed the victory.

Us Phil fans still have our doubts - and yes, I am a Phil fan. This is one in a row. But his loss to JB in his last tourney was won by JB - Phil didn't give it up. This week was Phil's turn to seize the day, and seize it he did. And Phil '08 is a different man than Phil '07 or Phil '06. He's quite noticeably fitter, leaner. He looks hungrier - maybe it's the lean look, or maybe he really is hungrier. Maybe this is all wishful thinking, but maybe it's not. Maybe it's Phil going for his career grand slam - or maybe the Grand Slam itself.

Go Phil! Golf needs you. Even "The One" needs you. The better the competition for The One, the better for the history of golf. So far, I like Phil '08. I like the promise of Phil '08. I can't wait to see how the coming weeks play out.

GF