Joy of Golf: Mickelson and Furyk face crucial year

Joy Chakravarty 07:15 07/01/2016
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  • Tough run: Phil Mickelson.

    With all the focus on Jordan Spieth, the youth brigade and the future of Tiger Woods, it is easy to overlook the fact that two seasoned American veterans – Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk – are also embarking on what could be a decisive season of their careers.

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    Mickelson, one of the most endearing characters in the game, starts 2016 ranked 36th in the world – his worst ranking since finishing 1993 as world No. 47.

    In the first week of 1994, ‘Lefty’ won the Mercedes Championship and never fell outside the top-30 after that. Now aged 45, Mickelson knows this is the last couple of years when he can make a genuine attempt to complete a career grand slam – the US Open title has tragically eluded him so far despite playing well in the tournament each year – or even add to his tally of 42 PGA Tour wins.

    Mickelson hasn’t won anything since the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield, and in 2015, he missed three cuts and had just three top-10s – not the kind of numbers you’d associate with the three-time Masters champion.

    Not that Mickelson is unaware of the facts. He is shaking up things – quite violently – in an effort to arrest the slide. Primary among the changes this year is the presence of new coach Andrew Getson.

    That’s a huge statement of intent from the American because he is known to stick by his team members. His caddie and manager have remained unchanged throughout his long career, and the relationship with Butch Harmon lasted eight years.

    The man with the magical short game still drives the ball a long way and his wedge play remains among the finest in the world. But Mickelson is struggling with a couple of things – he is not putting as well as he used to (T41st in overall putting stats on the PGA Tour last year) and he is not finding as many greens in regulation.

    It remains to be seen what changes Mickelson and Getson have worked on and we will get our first look at him during the Career Builder Challenge on the PGA Tour in the third week of January.

    Furyk’s case is slightly different, but equally intriguing. In the last two years, the 45-year-old has had one win, four runners-up and 12 top-10s, which is the reason why he is ranked ninth in the world despite not playing a single tournament since last September’s BMW Championship when he withdrew because of a wrist injury.

    The 2003 US Open champion withdrew from this week’s Hyundai Tournament of Champions as his wrist was still feeling sore, and it is not clear when he will finally return to competitive golf. He has already been named as one of the vice-captains for this year’s Ryder Cup by captain Davis Love III, which goes to show his importance in the American set-up, but I am sure Furyk would rather be there in a playing capacity.

    From tee to green, Furyk was absolutely stunning on the PGA Tour last year. He was 17th in accuracy off the tee and 14th in greens hit in regulation. But he faltered on the greens, finishing 115th in the Strokes Gained Putting list. If he saved even one shot each round with his putting, he would have dominated in Spieth-like fashion.

    The return to action will be difficult for Furyk. He is one man who lives on hard work, and if he has not practiced enough, he might struggle. But what works out for him and his unique swing is the consistency he has shown with his hitting over the past two decades. It will be interesting to see if the injury layoff, which is now four months long, effects that part of his game or not.

    PXG in the limelight

    You never think it is possible, but this is the second year when the start of the golfing season has been hijacked by an equipment manufacturing company.

    Nike and Rory McIlroy was the first instance back in 2014 and this year, despite the presence of Jordan Spieth and Jason Day at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, the limelight seems to be on PXG. That’s Parsons Xtreme Golf – the clubs manufactured by American billionaire Bob Parsons.

    After making his money in tech business – he is the man who spawned GoDaddy and still remains their largest shareholder – the golf-crazy Parsons has spent the last few year obsessing with golf club technology.

    PXG is the result and the clubs make their debut this year. It’s not just the price tag it carries – the whole set is expected to retail at $5,000 (Dh18,350) – that is causing people to sit up and take notice, but also the fact that the company has managed to sign up reigning Open champion Zach Johnson among eight players.

    Other well known names to have switched to PXG include 2014 FedEx Cup champion Billy Horschel, Ryan Moore, Chris Kirk, James Hahn and Charles Howell III on the PGA Tour; Cristie Kerr, Alison Lee and Gerina Piller on the LPGA Tour and Rocco Mediate on the Champions Tour.

    Johnson’s signing created a stir because the Iowa man has been a Titleist loyalist all his life.

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