There was that unforgettable scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where Butch and Sundance are at the top of the cliff, ready to jump into the roaring rapids below. Butch (Paul Newman) is laughing hysterically when Sundance (Robert Redford) tells him, "All I want is a clear shot."
I was reminded of that scene watching Butch Harmon and Phil Mickelson walking toward the scoring building at the new TPC Sawgrass on Sunday evening, arms around each other's shoulders in the early evening sun, like they'd just jumped off a cliff together, robbed a bank for $1.
62 million and gotten away with it. A clear shot for Mickelson? He would have taken that last year on the 72nd hole at Winged Foot, but who's laughing now?
With their victory at the Players Championship, Butch and the New Sundance Kid have become the story of the year. And one thing about them: Nobody's ever going to ask, "Who Are Those Guys?" Harmon and Mickelson are two of the most identifiable figures in the game, every bit as famous in golf as Newman and Redford playing outlaws, with the same daring.
The idea of these two pairing up was always tantalizing and now it's become a reality after nearly two months of public denial. Out of the closet, Butch and Phil promise to be as colorful as they are creative, an interesting mix of Tiger Woods' former coach and main rival. As Butch said after Phil won The Players, and again Tuesday in a phone call, "This is going to be a fun summer.
" He was showing off a pin flag, autographed by Mickelson, with the inscription, "To Butch. The first of many." Over the public address system, you could hear Phil thanking Rick Smith for laying the foundation, but it was clear that by buying into Harmon's philosophy, Mickelson had once again recreated himself, saying he couldn't wait for what it would be like in three days, three months, or three years.
I called Butch on Tuesday. He is trying to lay low, let the buzz die down, "because its gotten crazy," but with the U.S.
Open coming up in five weeks, and Tiger in one of those stretches where he's misplaced his A Game, this is clearly a time when it's hard not to think that Oakmont will come down to Tiger and Phil, or Phil and Tiger--the way it was with Palmer and Nicklaus in 1962. Johnny Miller said Sunday if the Open were this week, Mickelson would have to be favored. He said this based on the control Mickelson had over his ball flight on the weekend at Sawgrass, and the struggles Woods had for the first three rounds around Pete Dye's infamous house of pain.
"Tiger will love this--absolutely love it," said Harmon on the steps of the clubhouse Sunday, wearing sunglasses and a smile from ear-to-ear. "It will motivate him to get better." I can only imagine the look on Tiger's face when he read that quote, because yes, in a way, he will absolutely love it and yes, he knows what this is about.
Butch is back up on the horse, and with all respect to Adam Scott and Jose Maria Olazabal he's riding a thoroughbred. That Phil would win at Sawgrass was once unheard of--let alone three weeks into the Harmon School of Golf. This is the venue where he gave what's now commonly referred to as his "My Way" speech, defending his aggressive style a week after trying to fit a golf ball through the trees from 198 yards on the 16th hole at Bay Hill.
Phil went splash and defiantly said, "I won't ever change. Not tomorrow, Sunday or at Augusta or the U.S.
Open, or any tournament." He had 20 victories at the time and the next day he five-putted to fall from contention, but that was Phil circa 2002. Around 2004 he started playing smarter, starting hitting the cut with Smith at the controls, and it was a beautiful thing: Three majors in three years, life was good.
Along the way Smith and Mickelson got too close and the message lost its meaning. There's never that fear with Butch, who says he will not be part of the Mickelson training missions at major championship venues. As for Woods and Hank Haney, don't worry.
Last I checked, Tiger's gone 3-for-7 this year--so imagine the results if he's motivated to get better. Butch is right. It will be fun.
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