Upbeat Mickelson faces test of character

MANY Irish people, and especially the ladies, have unhappy memories of Phil Mickelson’s visit to Portmarnock in 1991.

The occasion was the Walker Cup and though still an amateur, the gifted left-hander was already a big name in the world of golf.

So when he made a politically incorrect remark about the women of Ireland, it went down like the proverbial lead balloon. That was 12 years ago and Phil has long since forgotten the furore his unfortunate remarks caused. But he still remembers the course that introduced him to links golf, a form of the game he has loved ever since.

"Portmarnock is certainly one of the greatest links courses around," said Mickelson last night. "The set-up was just spectacular and it made me feel very excited about links golf. That was my first exposure to links golf and I really loved it. I also played the 91 Open at Birkdale and I enjoyed them both. Each course has some history to it and a lot of character."

The days are long since past when Mickelson speaks an indelicate word about anybody or any thing so when he pours compliments on a certain person or a certain golf course, you are inclined to be just a tad sceptical. Yet he seemed genuine enough when he gushed: "Royal St George's is a wonderful, place. I did not play here in 93 when Greg Norman won but I watched in 85 when Sandy Lyle made five from down in the swale and everybody thought he may have lost his chance. Being able to play, it gives you a great feel for the course which has a lot of difficult greens, a lot of slopes.

"The course has a lot of character. Shot-making into the greens will be very important because there will be one side where you can get up and down and the other side you can't. It's a very fair test off the tee given the bunker placement. It's going to be a fun test but I really enjoyed it out there today."

Mickelson, as ever, remains the "greatest player not to have won a major" and his form of late suggests he won't change things this week. He has slipped from second to eighth in the world rankings but claims to have "started to play a little better of late". How can he say that with a straight face considering he finished a lowly 35th in the Scottish Open at the weekend?

"I hit it pretty good at Loch Lomond but scored horrendously for the way I felt I was playing. Hopefully it will happen this week but if not, I feel it's a lot closer."

Mickelson is a lot more realistic when he says: "Tiger and Ernie are the guys you have to watch out for, not because they've done so well in the past but because they're playing well right now. You look at the consistent guys Kenny Perry, he's been playing terrific. Obviously, Jim Furyk and Mike Weir, they've had phenomenal years."

Take a good look at Mickelson and you see the kind of guy you expect to dominate the world, tall, handsome, stylish, shy, yes, but also strong and determined .

Then you espy Rich Beem, who doesn't seem to have a whole lot going in a physical sense but he also possesses something Mickelson would love to have, yet can't seem to get his hands on a major championship.

Beem outstayed Tiger Woods down the stretch in the US PGA Championship at Hazeltine last August to kill off the poor image portrayed of him in that wonderful book Bud, Sweat and Tees.

He's now one of the most relaxed players here at Sandwich. Nothing seems to bother him, on the contrary he loves the entire scenario.

His victory in the PGA lifted his self belief and confidence no end, a second place a couple of weeks ago in the Western Open behind the rampant Tiger Woods has equally convinced him of just how much he deserves to be up there with the game's finest.

"Being here is spectacular and I only wish I could describe it better than that," said Beem. "It's still nerve-wracking but it's wonderful coming to a championship like this, not just this year, but I've got five more to go after this, at least.

"There's a lot of talk about the wind over here, but growing up in west Texas and El Paso area, from February to about mid-June it blows about 40 mph almost every day. So playing in the wind doesn't usually bother me. However, with the hard fairways and the firmness of the greens it's different, so I'll spend some time doing a lot of chipping and putting around the greens and trying to get a feel for what kind of shots you need."

Like Mickelson, Beem looks to Woods and Els as the most likely winners but doesn't rule himself out. Either way, he's going to have a ball and doesn't mind the beer being warmer than he would like.

"It's not bad, not bad at all. The first one goes down a little stiff but it's darker beer than Coors Light, which is 90% water. Over here, it's a little stiffer but it's quite good."

Bottoms up, then, Rich.