Phil Mickelson

TULSA, Okla. - Phil Mickelson knows all about betting on a long shot - and watching it come in. It happened last summer, when Mickelson turned a bet on a National Football League team that had never made the playoffs into a reported $520,000 payday after the Ravens won the Super Bowl. Now Mickelson is hoping to see another long shot - himself - win the 101st U.S. Open. "I've come to the realization that I can't change my approach to the game," said Mickelson, who finished second by a stroke behind the late Payne Stewart in the 1999 Open at Pinehurst No. 2. "I don't enjoy playing conservative.

Olympic suits Kuchar Tom Yantz Hartford Courant Not Tiger, Phil, Bubba, Rory or Lee. "Kooch" will reign supreme. Matt Kuchar just won The Players Championship, where he beat a stellar field. The U.S. Open at the Olympic Club, toughened to the extreme by the USGA, will be a greater physical and mental endurance test. Kuchar can grind with the best of them. He ranks 10th in greens in regulation and 25th in driving accuracy on the PGA Tour.

Phil Mickelson pulled out of the Memorial Tournamenton Thursday after shooting a first-round 79. He didn't make any excuses. He didn't say that his well-documented psoriatic arthritisflared up or that he had tweaked the wrist that has given him problems over the years. He blamed it on being tired from the European vacation that he and his wife Amy had taken last week and that he had not come prepared to play in the tournament hosted by the legendary Jack Nicklaus. Mickelson said he needed to spend more time on the range with his swing coach, Butch Harmon, before theU.S.

Phil Mickelson pulled out of the Memorial Tournamenton Thursday after shooting a first-round 79. He didn't make any excuses. He didn't say that his well-documented psoriatic arthritisflared up or that he had tweaked the wrist that has given him problems over the years. He blamed it on being tired from the European vacation that he and his wife Amy had taken last week and that he had not come prepared to play in the tournament hosted by the legendary Jack Nicklaus. Mickelson said he needed to spend more time on the range with his swing coach, Butch Harmon, before theU.S.

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — Now it all makes sense. For months golf's No. 1 ranking has sat there on a platter, ready to be consumed by Phil Mickelson. But based on Mickelson's play, you might have wondered whether he actually wanted to overtake Tiger Woods as the world's greatest player. Now we know otherwise. Mickelson revealed Tuesday at the PGA Championship that he is being treated for a form of arthritis that left him so debilitated, he could not get out of bed during a family vacation to Hawaii in late June.

Know that when I say this, I say it with love: It's time to bring your A-game and help the United States win the Ryder Cup. Enough excuses. You're the second-most talented player of your generation. This week, it's time to play like it. (For more, go to baltimoresun.com/lifeofkings)

TROON, Scotland -- He had been overshadowed by Phil Mickelson while in college and overrun by the emergence of Tiger Woods as a pro. Justin Leonard's profile was much like his game.Respected but not quite feared.Solid but not quite a superstar.It all changed Sunday afternoon when the 25-year-old Texan won the 126th British Open at Royal Troon.Not that Leonard ever saw it that way."I did play against Phil for two years. However, I didn't play against Tiger," Leonard said shortly after his final round of 6-under-par 65 and four-round score of 12-under 272 had given him a three-shot victory.

Good morning -- Phil Mickelson -- Better to melt down on a Friday than a Sunday.

Good morning --Phil Mickelson --Has everyone forgotten you're going for three majors in a row?

OFF THE TEE -- Kevin Van Valkenburg argues that it's more fun to cheer for imperfection -- and that's why Phil Mickelson, not Tiger Woods, is the guy to watch in the Masters. baltimoresun.com/thelifeofkings More students are applying to more colleges, such as an Annapolis High School student who sought entry to 10 and was accepted at nine.

It's still Tiger and Phil Bill Dwyre Los Angeles Times The best golfer in the world is at home in Florida with ice packs on his bad knee. Battling for 1-A are Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Steve Stricker. We eliminate McIlroy because he is just a kid and showed that when he whined after the British Open about not liking to play in bad weather. It's not Donald because he can't hit enough big boomers. We eliminate Westwood because he always seems to eliminate himself.

Phil Mickelson has planned enough Masters champions dinners around what he likes. For his third, he's bowing to others. Mickelson said his first thought was a tribute to Seve Ballesteros , whose first Masters win came 31 years ago and inspired a 9-year-old Mickelson to dream about a green jacket. Ballesteros has been unable to travel in recent years while battling brain cancer. "I sent him an e-mail saying if he were able to come and feeling healthy enough, I would love to have the dinner be something he would like — a Spanish dish of paella or whatever he thought would be appropriate," Mickelson said.

Tiger Woods hammered a low, drawing 3-wood, twirled his club and then gave swing guru Sean Foley a fist bump. His practice session was complete. After walking to the first tee, Woods asked an official, "What's the batting order today?" With playing partner K.J. Choi waiting in the on-deck circle, Woods put a flawed swing on that same 3-wood, and his drive settled in the right rough just 231 yards away. A so-so approach, followed by a heavy bunker shot and flubbed four-footer left Woods 2 over par before he could catch his breath at the BMW Championship.

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — Now it all makes sense. For months golf's No. 1 ranking has sat there on a platter, ready to be consumed by Phil Mickelson. But based on Mickelson's play, you might have wondered whether he actually wanted to overtake Tiger Woods as the world's greatest player. Now we know otherwise. Mickelson revealed Tuesday at the PGA Championship that he is being treated for a form of arthritis that left him so debilitated, he could not get out of bed during a family vacation to Hawaii in late June.

Five weeks ago, Graeme McDowell proved the steadiest when Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and other marquee names couldn't keep from snagging golf spikes at Pebble Beach. Louis Oosthuizen follows with the most dominant non-Tiger performance in a major since Jack Nicklaus 30 years ago. The casual golf fan asks, "Who are these guys?" The answer: Maybe folks just haven't been paying enough attention. Especially when it comes to players who spend the bulk of their time on the other side of the pond.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — A month ago at Pebble Beach, Phil Mickelson did the nearly unthinkable when he played the first round of the U.S. Open without a birdie. On Thursday, it almost happened again. Despite benign conditions that didn't worsen until after he made the turn at the Old Course, Mickelson couldn't get a birdie putt to fall until the final hole of a 1-over-par 73. That left him trailing 96 other golfers, in a fight to make the cut with worse weather on the way. "I fought hard today," Mickelson told ESPN in his only interview.

Jason Bohn, Jeff Overton and Blake Adams shot 7-under 63s Thursday to share the first-round lead at the Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas, where 2008 champ Phil Mickelson struggled after an impressive start. Mickelson birdied the first two holes, but that was the lowest he got on a hot day with ideal scoring conditions. He finished with a 1-over 71 and is tied for 89th after 75 players broke par. It would take quite a comeback for Mickelson to win his third Colonial, a victory that would push him to No. 1 in the world ranking ahead of Tiger Woods for the first time.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods stole the show for most of Sunday. But they exited stage right before the green jacket ceremony. Mickelson birdied six of the first eight holes, becoming just the fourth player in Masters history to record a front-nine 30. The others: Johnny Miller in the third round in 1975, Greg Norman in the fourth round in 1988 and K.J. Choi in the second round in 2004. "The front nine was awesome," Mickelson said. "It was really fun, and it gave me a chance on the back.