Even by Phil Mickelson’s standards, his preparations for Sunday’s final round of the BMW Championship at Medinah, outside Chicago, were a little too exciting for comfort.

Emotionally charged though sentiments might be given the genuine professionalism Steve Stricker extends, one must be careful to show restraint in light of how things unfolded in yesterday’s second round of the US PGA Championship.

We’re not sure when the transformation came, but at some point in time, the Ryder Cup morphed into a national security endeavour.