Expert Picks: Waste Management Phoenix Open

Fourteen-time major champion Tiger Woods missed the cut at the U.S. Open after his 2-over-par 72 in second round.

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Francesco Molinari won The Open on Sunday, outlasting a star-studded field at Carnoustie to clinch his first career major championship.

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LA QUINTA, Calif. — When it comes to his thought process on the course, Jon Rahm likes to keep things simple. That means getting the yardage, wind direction and club selection from caddie Adam Hayes. Nothing more, nothing less.  Before Hayes was on the bag, Rahm went through the same pre-shot process with Tim Mickelson, his former head coach at Arizona State, who managed and caddied for the 23-year-old before taking over the bag full-time for brother Phil Mickelson.  “Because Tim was my coach at (Arizona State), I didn’t need much,” Rahm said of their pre-shot routine. “It was, ‘OK, it’s 120, this shot, right?’”  Asked what it’s like being privy to the player-caddie pre-shot conversations between the Mickelson brothers, Rahm, who played a practice round with Phil on Wednesday at the CareerBuilder Challenge, said they are on the opposite end of the spectrum.  “With Phil, it’s like, ‘Oh, this shot, the moisture, this is going on,’” Rahm said. “They’re talking about one mile per hour of wind sideways, it’s going to affect it 1 yard. This green is this, 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.’” Of course, Mickelson’s extreme attention to detail doesn’t end with full shots. Rahm said it also extends to the putting green as well.  “He gets to the green and it’s the same thing,” Rahm said. “I’m like, ‘Oh, it’s a foot right?’ And he goes, ‘OK, it’s 1.8 degrees of slope here.’ And I’m listening and I’m like, ‘Man, I hope we’re never paired together for anything because I can’t think like this (laughs).’ I would not be able to play golf like that. “And then you hear me and Adam (Hayes) talk — 180, a little breeze into, OK, hard 6. And it’s just the extreme opposite.” Despite being polar opposites when it comes to the way they navigate the course, Rahm appreciates having the opportunity to glean as much as he can from the five-time major winner during their practice rounds.  “It’s just fun to hear it, to hear what he does,” Rahm said. “But I tried to learn as much as I can from that guy, I always like to try to pick his brain a little. Again, great guy to be out here with.”

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