Just Phil being Phil. The phrase means different things in different settings. In a casual round, it might suggest Phil Mickelson’s fondness for ceaseless smack talk with a little something on the line. On social media, it could describe his penchant for snarky putdowns, playful jabs and polarizing political takes.
But in tournament golf, “Phil being Phil” has one connotation only. It refers to wild adventures, aggressive shots that border on certified insanity and Houdini-like escapes that leave everyone, the man himself included, smiling and shaking their head.
On Friday at Augusta National, the three-time Masters champion was up to his old tricks again.
It happened on the 11th hole, where Mickelson arrived at one-over par for the tournament, a bogey clear of the cut line. It had been a solid 2-under round so far, with a birdie at the 2nd and another at the 10th. But now the teeth of the course awaited: the start of Amen Corner and a 520-yard par-4 that historically ranks as the second-toughest hole on the course.
Mickelson’s didn’t make it any easier. His drive flared left in the swirling winds and settled in the forest in a nest of pine straw. Golf fans had seen Mickelson in tricky, pine-shaded spots before, most famously in 2010, when his daring field goal through the trees from a slippery lie on the 13th hole propelled him to his third green jacket. Conservative play is as appealing to Mickelson as spoiled pimento cheese to a Masters patron. But he had no choice. His path was blocked. All that Mickelson could do was bump his ball a few feet out of the pines.
Plenty of meat on the hole remained: 234 yards, to be exact, with water left and breezes blowing schizophrenically.
A perfect time to slip into character.
With his ball still sitting in the straw, Mickelson opted for a fairway metal, which he wielded with a semi-sawed off swing: a high-arcing approach that faded slightly, landed softly front-right of the green, hop-skipped onto the putting surface and took the slope toward the cup.
An 8-footer to save an absurdist par. No one could have been surprised by what happened next. When the putt dropped, Mickelson plucked his ball quickly from the cup, tipped his cap and fist-bumped his caddie, his face creasing into a familiar grin.
Was it a sheepish look? Self-satisfied? Celebratory?
The expression might mean different things to different people.
That, too, is a case of Phil being Phil.
