Phil's Merion Opener: "The most unusual workday of anyone's golf career."
/Luke Donald has the lead at -4 but Phil Mickelson has the clubhouse lead and not surprising with his red-eye arrival, grabbed the Thursday U.S. Open headlines.
The Golf Central video highlights of Phil's round.
Even for Phil Mickelson, his path to the top of the leaderboard Thursday in the U.S. Open was unconventional.
He traveled about 2,400 miles in the air and 7,000 yards on the ground. He took a short nap on his private jet from San Diego and another one during a rain delay when he found a secluded corner of the library room in the Merion clubhouse. He carried five wedges but no driver.
Dave Kindred called the pre-6 am arrival after an all-night flight "the most unusual workday of anyone's golf career, excepting, perhaps, one of those Walter Hagen mornings after a long, liquid night when the bon vivant Haig arrived by limousine and changed into his golf shoes while disembarking at the first tee."
Scott Michaux featured high praise from Phil's playing partner.
“I was as interested as anybody to see what he’d do,” said Steve Stricker, who himself has proved that being a part-time golfer can elevate your game on the big stages. “When he three-putted the first hole, I thought, ‘Here we go.’
“He’s such a competitor. He thinks he can do anything,” Stricker added. “The biggest thing with anybody out here is if you’re comfortable and confident in your decision – and he felt good about it – you can live with it. I think he expected to play well.”
John Strege with the ESPN coverage of Phil's day, including Andy North's reporting that Phil took a nap during the storm that halted first round play.
And Jason Sobel compares Phil to Allan Iverson. Yes, he does, and calling them "kindred spirits" kind of works.
