Phil Mickelson is poised to contend and possibly win the Bridgestone Invitational. It would make him the world's top player. And he has waited for that along time.
With Phil Mickelson close to taking over the top spot in the golf rankings, his every shot is being closely watched.AKRON, Ohio — Off the 17th tee, Phil Mickelson, who missed the fairway more often than he hit it Friday, did not miss an inattentive pedestrian. The guy probably never suspected a patch of unmown grass could be quite that rough.
"Do you want some ice?" Mickelson asked, before being told first aid workers already had tended to the spectator on the South Course at Firestone Country Club.
"I think that gentleman learned the hazards of following me and walking in the landing area," said Mickelson. "I think he might want to stay more by the tee the next time."
Then Mickelson handed the guy a golf glove for taking one in the clavicle.
"Do you carry extra gloves in your bag?" he was asked.
"I do. I carry a couple extra for that reason, yes," said Mickelson.
Mickelson reached out and touched everybody in a symbolic way in the golf year's signature moment. After he won the Masters, he hugged his wife Amy, who is fighting breast cancer, behind the 18th green.
"She's doing much better," he said. "Long term, we're in much better shape. It's been an interesting 14, 15 months, but we're in a lot better position now, and we're very fortunate."
Now we know that even when he reaches out with a touch that has the impact of a wayward golf ball, he leaves them smiling.
Mickelson is a shot behind, tied for second place, at 6-under 134 at the halfway point of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He certainly would be a popular winner, should that happen.
From his first appearance of the day, it was obvious what Mickelson means to golf. The steep tilt of the ground around the first tee restricts the view of spectators in all but the rows nearest the fence that borders it. So the first glimpse of Mickelson was of his white hat. (Well, actually, it was a cap.) He also wore a grape-colored shirt, which was a shade too light to resemble a variety of wine, unfortunately. Otherwise, much could be made of what a vintage year this could be for him.
Mickelson is the most visible embodiment of high, unsoiled aspiration in the game that Tiger Woods dragged through the mud. "This is the week to be No. 1, Phil," a fan shouted.
An instant later, one minute before his 1:50 p.m. tee time, Mickelson glanced at his watch. No. 1 has indeed been a long time coming.
Then, Mickelson sliced his drive into the left rough and strode off down the fairway, heading straight for a black cloud hovering over the green. It is never entirely blue skies and green lights with Mickelson.
Even before Woods' extramarital affairs became public knowledge, Mickelson was the game's best-loved player because he hit it where the fans hit it, then he recovered the way they only dreamed about.
At this year's Masters in the final round, he staked his claim to the tournament with a 207-yard 6-iron on his second shot from the pine straw on the par-5 13th hole, which whistled through a small opening between the trees. It landed four feet from the hole. It was the shot of the year thus far.
His final five holes Friday were a sprawling melee, in which Mickelson double-bogeyed 14, birdied 15 and 16, hit the guy as he parred 17, and then hacked it around on 18 and saved par anyway.
On 18, he sent a low screamer from the left side of the fairway, not an advantageous approach position, into the rear of the green-side bunker, then flicked the ball in a spray of sand to within three feet of the hole. The greens are soft. The ball settles on them now like a bird into a nest. The shot would be impossible on firmer ground.
For all Mickelson's heroics, he never has been voted the year's best player on the PGA Tour, and he has not been ranked No. 1 in the world for a single moment. Woods has held the spot for more than five years now. But with Tiger busy turning into a pillar of salt here on a course he has owned, the path to the top never has seemed more accessible.
"Obviously, being No. 1 would be cool. I'm not going to say it wouldn't," said Mickelson after his 2-under 68 on Friday.
The PGA Championship, the year's final major, follows the Bridgestone next week. "Glory's final shot," they call it.
Mickelson is 40 now. He has won 39 PGA Tour events and five majors, the most of any of Woods' rivals. Nothing at this point is his last shot. But it is probably his best one right now.