FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- The crown of the PGA Tour's Everyman has not always rested easily atop Phil Mickelson's head.
Often, what you saw and what you got were not what you believed.
There were the long lines of autograph seekers who were never left unsatisfied. There were the frequent appearances in pro-am events, especially those long grinds such as the Bob Hope Classic, where Mickelson actually seemed to enjoy every minute and always made his 15-handicap partners feel as if they actually mattered.
Too good to be true? Many thought so.
Then along came his news conference Wednesday morning, the day before he embarks on yet another attempt to win a U.S. Open. These media gatherings are usually exercises in saying the predictable, dishing out just enough vanilla to satisfy the assembled note-takers, and dashing off to a practice round.
Not this time. And seldom with Mickelson, especially not when there is a story that even a high school journalism student wouldn't miss.
It wasn't that there were earth-shaking developments about his wife's breast cancer, or revelations that would move the story forward. Yes, Amy is having surgery soon. Yes, that probably means he won't play in the British Open, probably won't return to golf until August. And yes, the reason he is even playing here at all is that, as Mickelson put it, "We have had good news." He didn't say exactly what that meant, but it might mean they caught the cancer early or have identified it as less serious than first thought. What was significant was how Mickelson handled all this, and how it further endears him to a public that is also enamored of the focused, game-face approach of Tiger Woods.
Mickelson is the non-Tiger, and that's all right. There is room for both. If we admire Woods, that does not mean we cannot admire Mickelson. Different styles don't just make for great boxing matches. They work in golf, too, if they are recognized for what they are.
Many observers of the sport say that Mickelson came of age as the blue-collar man of the people right here, at Bethpage State Park in 2002, where New Yorkers rooted him on as only New York sports fans can. He walked the fairways with his usual big grin, nodded recognition when they yelled his name, bumped a fist or two and finished second. To Tiger.
