Phil Mickelson and Jon Rahm couldn’t seem more different, but their shared connection of Tim Mickelson (Rahm’s former coach and Phil’s brother caddie) keeps them in close proximity of each other.
It is part of the reason they frequently play practice rounds together, like they did this week at the CareerBuilder Challenge. Having both played their collegiate golf at Arizona State and having both started their careers with early victories, the comparisons are sure to continue. But if Rahm’s press conference Wednesday is any indication, those comparisons might have to be tempered.
Rahm was asked about what he has learned in his time playing around Mickelson, and it couldn’t be more clear how differently they think.
“I have a good time when I play practice rounds with him because we joke around together a lot,” Rahm said. “And for me it’s fun to hear, now that he’s with Tim [Mickelson], and we are all really close. It, to me, is really fun to hear how they talk to each other, because Tim being my coach at ASU, I don’t need much. OK, it’s like 120, this shot, right.
“And you have Phil, it’s like, oh, this shot, the moisture, this going on, this is like one mile an hour wind sideways, it’s going to affect it one yard. This green is soft, this trajectory. They’re thinking and I’m like, I’m lost. I’m like, God, if I do that thought process, I could not hit the golf shot. And it’s funny, he gets to the green and then it’s the same thing. He’s very detail oriented. He gets there and I’m like, oh, it’s a foot right. And he goes, OK, he reads the green, like, oh, it’s 1.8 degrees of slope here and this and that. And I’m there listening and I’m like, man, I hope we’re never paired together for anything because I can’t think like this.”
Not many people can. As Rahm would continue to say, there are not many players like Mickelson. It’s something he proved last year with David Feherty, as well as on the GOLF.com Podcast with Alan Shipnuck. You can listen to that and much more from Mickelson in the podcast below.
