King of Scotland

A week ago I told you to refrain from being surprised if Phil hoisted the Claret Jug this week, so please don’t tell me you are surprised. Okay, you can be a little surprised because even I can’t say that I totally expected what happened in the final round. Looking back on Phil’s year so far, a day like today was not completely out of the realm of possibility. In fact, Phil has played some great golf this year. He already had a win on the PGA Tour as well as on the European Tour and a handful of other top five finishes including yet another second place finish at the U.S. Open. It is hard to expect that you will see one of the greatest rounds of golf in major championship history though.

At the outset Phil Mickelson had a tough task ahead of him. He had finished his third round in a somewhat disappointing fashion with three bogeys down the stretch, was five shots back, and had proven major champions and those poised to win their first major between him and the lead. He certainly needed to shoot a good score and, at the time, it looked like he was going to need some help too. His front nine was solid indeed as he shot two under par to get himself firmly into contention at even par for the championship. Most will remember the birdies that he made at five and nine, but what really kept his round going were the numerous par saving putts that he made in those opening nine holes.

Unfortunately, he started his back nine with a bogey. Two pars later he stood on the thirteenth tee still in contention. At this point, however, both Adam Scott and Henrik Stenson were looking strong. Especially Adam Scott whose demons from Royal Lytham & St Annes were now firmly shielded by a green jacket. The good news is that the thirteenth is where Phil started to orchestrate one of the greatest finishes in major championship history. He hit a solid tee shot on the par three thirteenth that gave him a great look at birdie. He canned the birdie. This got him to even par, a number that both Phil and I, as well as others, felt would probably be good enough to at least get into a playoff. In fact, at the end of the day it would have been good enough to get him into a playoff with Henrik Stenson. Thirteen was only the start though. Phil went on to make a long birdie putt on fourteen to get him to one under par. A hard fought par on the fifteenth brought him to the sixteenth tee in great shape. This is when Phil hit a solid tee shot on the par three to about twenty feet. The shot went unrewarded though as it slowly rolled back and off the front of the green. A tough break like this would derail many a golfer. Phil Mickelson, ever the optimist, never looks behind though. He knows that life isn’t about the failures or the bad breaks, but about what you do after the disappointment. How else could a man be poised to win his fifth major after finishing second in a major that he has never won for a record sixth time just a month earlier? With the past firmly behind him, Phil got up and down for par on the sixteenth to keep the momentum going. Then Phil hit a solid three wood off the tee at the par five seventeenth. Another solid blow with his three wood and a good kick off of a downslope left Phil on the green with a chance for eagle. This, coupled with the fact that the other contenders including Adam Scott (who found out that not even a green jacket cures all major championship woes as Phil Mickelson can surely attest to) were going backwards, left Phil with one hand on the Claret Jug. Two putts later and Phil was off to the seventy-second hole with his best chance ever to win the Open Championship. Once again he laced a solid three wood down the middle. A solid approach that got a little lucky to miss the bunker on the left gave him a great look at birdie. At this point he only needed a par though. Nevertheless, he drained the birdie putt to cap off a final round 66 that left him at three under par for the championship and put the title essentially out of reach for everyone else. It was a beautiful sight as Phil and his great friend Jim “Bones” Mackay hugged on the final green as was the hug with his family that ensued.

After waiting for the final few groups to finish, Phil was finally able to hoist the Claret Jug and cap off a truly great fortnight during which he became the King of Scotland, or at the very least, the King of the Scottish Links. Looking ahead, the dream scenario is now set. Phil has a chance to complete the career grand slam at the U.S. Open. The major that has eluded him his whole career. Not only that, the U.S. Open is at Pinehurst No. 2, the sight of his first ever second place finish at the U.S. Open. The prospect of him winning there, and in a certain sense coming full circle, gives me goose bumps. For the moment though, I am going to enjoy Phil’s first ever Open Championship and fifth career major as I am sure he will too. By the way, there are two more majors before next June rolls around and Phil is certainly poised to win one or both of them. Congratulations Phil. This one was sweet.

Phil Finally Finishes First on a Links Course in a Fantastic Finish

For many years Phil Mickelson has struggled to play his best golf on links courses. Some have attributed this to the dismal weather that usually accompanies links golf, others to the fact that his everyday aerial approach on the PGA Tour does not work on a links course. He has had brief moments of success on links courses. Most recently he finished tied for second at the 2011 Open Championship (Known as the British Open in the United States of America) at Royal St. George’s; a strong finish that was sparked by a great front nine on Sunday. Overall though, his body of work on links courses was not terribly noteworthy, and a win was conspicuously missing. That was until today as Phil won the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Castle Stuart, a great new links in the far north of Scotland.

Phil started the final round tied for second at fourteen under and two shots back of Henrik Stenson after shooting 66-70-66 in the first three rounds. Right out of the gates Phil made sure that the fans in Inverness got their money’s worth as he started double-bogey, birdie, bogey, birdie, birdie, and birdie. In usual Phil fashion, he had managed to pack a full day of excitement into the first six holes. After this thrilling start Phil was still firmly in the mix though. Phil followed his exciting start to the day with four pars. (Don’t be fooled though, those pars were not completely excitement-free.) Then he birdied eleven, twelve, and fourteen to get to eighteen under par. The last of those three birdies finally gave him sole possession of the lead. Three pars later, he stood on the eighteenth tee in prime position to claim his first victory on a links course. He hit a decent tee shot up the left hand side of the par five finisher. At this point only one man stood in his way, Branden Grace. After Grace made par up ahead to stay one shot behind Phil, it looked as if the tournament was indeed Mickelson’s. Once Phil knew that he only needed a par, he laid up short of the green, and then hit his approach to the fringe, about twenty feet from the hole. As he walked up to the green the TV announcers congratulated him for finally winning in Scotland. Unfortunately their praise was premature as Phil ran his first putt about six feet past and then missed the come-back putt. This left him with a bogey on the final hole and tied at seventeen under with Branden Grace.

As Mickelson and Grace made their way back to the eighteenth tee for the sudden death playoff one was tempted to think that Phil had frittered away his best chance to win on a links course. I say “tempted” because one cannot forget that Phil is a great champion and has overcome adversity to win before. Both men hit solid drives down the middle. Phil took the advantage after the second shot though as Grace hit his layup into the rough and Phil hit a solid wood just short of the green. Although he was in the rough, Grace made solid contact. In fact, he hit his ball too cleanly as it checked up just before a slope that would have brought his ball close to the hole. This left him with a tough twenty foot putt. Phil now had an opening, and in typical Phil fashion, he hit a nifty wedge shot that went just passed the hole and then spun back to within a foot. Phil tapped in for birdie and cleared the stage for Grace. Grace proceeded to miss his birdie putt and Phil was finally a champion on a links course. Maybe even more importantly, he was finally a champion in Scotland – “The Home of Golf.” There is no doubt that every great golf champion should hoist at least one trophy on Scottish soil, and Phil, who is undoubtedly a great golf champion, has finally accomplished this feat.

Now that Phil has finally conquered links golf, there is no doubt that he is the favorite going into the Open Championship at Muirfield, which starts on Thursday. The naysayers may doubt his chances at Muirfield because it is tough to win the week before a major and then go on to win the major as well. One must not forget that this feat has been done before though. Not only that, the last person to do it was Phil Mickelson as he won the BellSouth Classic the week before the 2006 Masters and then went on to win the Masters as well. So, please refrain from being surprised if Phil hoists the Claret Jug a week from today.

A Top Notch Breakfast Revisited

I arrived in the greater Houghton, MI area a little over 10 months ago. Upon arrival I couldn’t help but notice the Hardee’s, and not just any Hardee’s, a Hardee’s with two floors. For most people a Hardee’s sighting is hardly noteworthy, but for a Lumberjack Club founding father it is truly a great sight. This is because, as my fellow Lumberjack Club founding fathers would surely attest, it is home to a delicacy known as the Big Country Breakfast Platter. Unfortunately, the Big Country Breakfast is merely a legend to so many Lumberjack Club members, current and former, because the Hardee’s in Cloquet, MN went out of business after the first year of Lumberjack Club. The closing of Hardee’s in Cloquet was certainly the darkest day during my tenure as Lumberjack Club President. Losing a staple of our restaurant rotation so early in the existence of Lumberjack Club could have led to the end of the club altogether. The founding fathers were resilient though, and because of that, Lumberjack Club is still strong today. Even though the founding fathers moved on after the closing of Hardee’s in Cloquet, the Big Country Breakfast still held a special place in our hearts and still does to this day. That is why I was excited to see a Hardee’s so close to where I was going to be living.

Unfortunately, I have to admit that today was the first time that I have gone to Hardee’s since I have been in the greater Houghton area, but I am truly glad that I finally made it back there today. It had been quite some time since I had had a Big Country Breakfast. (My last time was probably at the Superior, WI Hardee’s back in my first year at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.) Since it had been awhile, I was indeed relieved to see that it is still on the menu. The price has gone up to four and some change though. Nevertheless, it was great to have the Big Country Breakfast in front of me once again and to be reunited with the pancakes, eggs, sausage (or bacon), tater-tots, and biscuit that comprise the Big Country Breakfast. (It was also exciting to be eating at a Hardee’s with two floors. It is built on a hill so there is a lower level of seating below the main level.) There is no doubt that I savored each moment as I ate this Big Country Breakfast and was led to recall those days when the Big Country Breakfast was indeed the breakfast of Lumberjacks. Hopefully the Big Country Breakfast and I will meet again soon. With this in mind, I also encourage Lumberjacks and non-Lumberjacks alike to seek out the nearest Hardee’s and have a Big Country Breakfast in the near future. For those who have had a Big Country Breakfast within the context of a Lumberjack Club meeting, it is sure to bring back good memories, and for those who have never had a Big Country Breakfast at a Lumberjack Club meeting, it is sure to make memories. I would like to conclude with the original Lumberjack Club pledge of allegiance, which most people have surely never heard:

I pledge allegiance to the flannel of the Lumberjack Club, and to the club for which it stands, two restaurants under God, indivisible, with Big Country Breakfast for all.

And one more thing: Lumberjack! Lumberjack! Axe! Axe! Axe!