Why McIlroy’s caddie change actually makes sense

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A week ago, U.S. Presidents Cup Captain Steve Stricker asked Phil Mickelson to show him something. To make a positive statement with his golf game. Stricker wasn’t entirely comfortable with the request. After all, Mickelson has played for his country more times in team competition than any other golfer. Oh, and he’s also won five majors and 42 PGA TOUR events, and already has a spot in the World Golf Hall of Fame. But when Mickelson – who has played in every Presidents Cup since its inception in 1994, as well as every Ryder Cup since 1995 — told Stricker he really wanted to make this year’s U.S. team, the captain had no choice but to respond the way he did. Mickelson was 17th on the points list in which just the top 10 automatically qualify. There was work to be done. “I told him I would like to see him play well here on out, to show me something basically,â€� Stricker said. “That doesn’t sound right coming from a guy like me talking to Phil. ‘Hey, show me something.’ That doesn’t sound right. That’s basically what I said. “Show me that you are playing good at the end of the year.â€� Unfortunately for Mickelson, he showed nothing this week in his brief stay at the PGA Championship. He followed Thursday’s 8-over 79 with a 3-over 74 that left him at 11 over. The 153 strokes he needed to complete two rounds is the second-highest total in the 13 major cuts he’s missed in his career. He shot 79-76—155 in the 1999 Open Championship. The good news (if you can call it that) was he made three birdies Friday after failing to make a birdie the previous day. The bad news is he missed the cut at the PGA Championship for the first time since 1995. The worst news is that at a key time of the season, with his U.S. team streak on the line, Mickelson is at a loss for answers. And has lost his focus. “It’s not like I’m hitting the ball crooked,â€� a glum Mickelson said outside the Quail Hollow clubhouse Friday. “I’m just hitting it in the wrong spots. Not really controlling my thought process, where I want the ball to go. “I’m not real focused out there. I’m having a tough time visualizing the shot. I’m having a tough time controlling my thoughts and not letting it wonder to what I don’t want to have happen.â€� That’s not exactly what Stricker wants to hear. Unaware of when Mickelson played on Friday, Stricker was told of the missed cut. “He’s got a couple of events, probably in the FedExCup Playoffs,â€� Stricker said. “That’s all we’re going to have before we make the pick. Hopefully he can get hot in there.â€� Mickelson’s next start with be the FedExCup opener, THE NORTHERN TRUST, which starts Aug. 25 at Glen Oaks. Although Mickelson will likely drop from his current spot of 45th in FedexCup points, he’s guaranteed to advance to the second FedExCup event, the 100-man field at the Dell Technologies Championship. The top 10 players in Presidents Cup points after TPC Boston will earn guaranteed spots. Two days later, Stricker will announce his two captain’s picks. That means Mickelson has two events to climb inside the top 10. Otherwise, his fate – and that string of 23 consecutive years of representing the U.S. – will be left in the hands of others. “If I can play well in those, I have a chance to get on the team on my own,â€� said Mickelson, who won at TPC Boston in the inaugural FedExCup year of 2007. “If I play well in them and don’t make it, I have a chance to be a pick. “But I’ve got to play well in them is the thing.â€� Two years ago, Mickelson needed a captain’s pick from Jay Haas to make the U.S. team. At that time, Mickelson was 30th in Presidents Cup points and had not been particularly impressive in those first two FedExCup events. But he did have a couple of top-20 finishes in the last two majors that year … unlike this year, when he’s missed the cut at The Open and the PGA. It was the first time Mickelson had needed a captain’s pick since 1994, but Haas and his assistants recognized the value of Mickelson’s intangibles, as well as his experience. Mickelson rewarded them by going 3-0-1 and handily beating Charl Schwartzel 5 & 4 in singles to help the Americans retain the Cup. Stricker is well aware of those intangibles. While he has the final decision on the captain’s picks, he plans to have buy-in from his assistants as well as the 10 players who automatically qualify. If Mickelson is not one of those 10, then he must rely on support in the team room. “We need the best guys playing the best at the end of the year going forward,â€� Stricker said. “That’s what we’re going to be looking at. … “I think it’s important to get the whole team vested in those other two players that we’re going to pick.â€� The decisions won’t be easy. Stricker said he’s keeping a close eye on anybody inside the top 20 in Presidents Cup points, and even players beyond that. He specifically mentioned Zach Johnson, who is currently 28th and has played well in his last three starts – including a second-place finish at last week’s World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. Johnson was creeping up the leaderboard Friday afternoon when play was suspended due to weather. “If he can have another good solid run here through the rest of the year, he’s a guy I’m looking at too,â€� Stricker said of Johnson, a four-time Presidents Cup team member – and Mickelson’s partner two years ago in Korea. “Anybody, if they can get hot, we’re all going to give a good look to.â€� Mickelson is not hot. But he will spend next week seeking to regain his focus. “I don’t feel like I did two years ago where I’m searching for my game or I’m trying to find it or trying to strike it well,â€� Mickelson said. “I have great practice sessions. Drove it fine. Just not real focused when I’m out there.â€� So, Mickelson was asked, how does he work on something mental like that? “That’s a good question,â€� he said. “I’ll have to figure it out.â€� Hopefully it’s soon. He’s running out of time.

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WILMINGTON, N.C. – Notes and observations from Thursday’s first round of the Wells Fargo Championship at Eagle Point Golf Club, where Italy’s Francesco Molinari chipped in on the 18th hole for a 6-under 66 and a one-shot lead over Sweden’s Alex Noren among the early finishers. DJ PLEASED WITH OPENING ROUND Dustin Johnson hasn’t played much golf lately, but the rust didn’t show as he made four birdies and signed for a 2-under 70. That tied him with 53-year-old playing partner Davis Love III, and gave Johnson a solid start as he tries to play his way back into the winner’s circle for the fourth time in his last four starts.    “I’m happy with the way I played,” Johnson said. “I didn’t score that great, didn’t really hole that many putts, but other than that, yeah, I played really well.” Johnson got right back to his usual game Thursday. He averaged 312.7 yards off the tee, and hit 8 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens. (He leads the TOUR in both driving distance and greens in regulation.) The only thing that hampered his play: He took 32 putts. All in all, he said, it was a good day, especially considering this was his first competitive round since he closed out Jon Rahm to win the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play on March 26. “I thought I drove it nicely,” Johnson said, “Hit a lot of good iron shots. You know, I’m happy with the way I played, for sure.” The long break wasn’t part of the plan, of course. Johnson went to Augusta National for the Masters four weeks ago, but pulled out at the 11th hour with a lower back injury suffered while falling down a short flight of stairs in his rental house. In a way, Johnson said after his opening-round 70 at Eagle Point, it felt like nothing had changed since before the injury. He said he feels 100 percent physically, and the statistics backed him up: His longest measured drive in Round 1 was an impressive 340 yards. Johnson’s win streak goes all the way back to the Genesis Open in Los Angeles in February. Should he prevail at the Wells Fargo for his fourth straight victory it would mark the longest winning streak on TOUR since Tiger Woods won five straight tournaments in 2007-2008. “All in all,” Johnson said, “I’m very pleased with the day.” MOLINARI HEATS UP WITH PUTTER Francesco Molinari was having qualified success this season already, what with a T7 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard, a T33 at the Masters, and a T22 finish at the RBC Heritage. But something was holding him back: putting. That changed in the first round of the Wells Fargo, as Molinari chipped in twice and needed just 25 putts on his way to a 66 for the first-round lead. “Yeah, I had lots of good rounds this year,” said Molinari, who is ranked 69th in strokes gained: putting. “I think I had something like eight top 25s in 11 tournaments, so I’ve been playing really well. Obviously today I made a few more putts than maybe the last couple of months, which is always nice. … I worked on the putting a lot the last couple weeks and it paid off today.” Molinari said he took pleasure in not just seeing the ball go in the hole Thursday, but also in his older brother Edoardo picking up his third European Tour victory last month. “He’s had a pretty tough time the last few seasons,” Francesco said. WILLY WILCOX ‘TRYING TO FIND THE GAME’ Amid the players’ rush to familiarize themselves with Eagle Point, Willy Wilcox was so far down the alternate list to get into the Wells Fargo he didn’t play any practice rounds. He walked the back nine Wednesday, leaving his caddie Kevin Ensor to tour all 18. But that was it. Still, in his first time seeing Eagle Point with a club in his hands, Wilcox shot 3 under on the front nine Thursday morning, briefly sharing the lead. The 30-year-old with the unconventional swing dropped two shots on the back nine and signed for a 1-under 71. “Just trying to find the game,” said Wilcox, who is coming off his best result this season, a T14 with partner Freddie Jacobson at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. “It’s nice to see some good stuff. It was nice to birdie the last. It got a little squirrely on the back so we’ll go to the range and figure it out. We got a great draw with the weather.” Most fans know Wilcox for his ace at THE PLAYERS Championship last year, which was the first at the island 17th hole since 2002. He is not qualified to return to TPC Sawgrass next week, but remains grateful for the moment. He got messages from all around the world, all of which obscured the fact that he didn’t have a great season, missing 11 cuts and finishing 138th in the FedExCup standings. In December, he decided to shake things up. He was kicking back and having a few beers with his agent when he decided to change his name from Will to Willy, since everybody calls him that, anyway. “I wish I was going back,” Wilcox said of THE PLAYERS. “I mean, I guess I still kind of have a chance. It’s amazing how many people know about it. I got emails and Facebook messages, Twitter messages, my family was there. It was as cool as it could possibly get. Everybody back home was really excited. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, you had a bad year.’ People were like, ‘You had a hole-in-one! Dude, you should just retire now!’” He’s not about to retire, Wilcox added with a laugh. For one thing, the former University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazer — his mom Kim is the women’s golf coach — still has three more rounds to go at the Wells Fargo. His 71 puts him five behind the leader Molinari, which means a return trip to THE PLAYERS, while still a longshot, is still within reach.

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