Mickelson To Benefit Big-Time From Tiger's Public Meltdown

By The Lantern

Lord knows Tiger Woods has enough issues to deal with right now, but one that hasn't manifested yet certainly will as soon as the 2010 PGA Tour season begins in earnest with the southern swing in the spring.

Obviously a case can be made that Woods is the greatest golfer of this or any other generation and is easily one of the the most recognizable people on the planet. While he still sits four major championships shy of Jack Nicklaus' all-time mark of 18, Woods has done everything else required to be considered one of the greatest individual athletes, if not the greatest, in sports history.

His equals include guys named Ruth, Jordan, Gretzky and Ali, and animals like Secretariat. Statistically speaking, no one has touched Woods' accomplishments since he burst onto the sports landscape in 1996.

But in the case of popularity, Tiger does have one true rival. Phil Mickelson isn't perfect every week by any means, but is loved nonetheless because he's got an everyman quality that the striped one will never attain.

Especially now.

Mickelson is the true chosen one in the eyes of the golfing public because he's simply a guy you love to root for. His "aw shucks" demeanor and wizadry with a club on the course is only equaled by his gentlemanly conduct out amongst the masses. You want to talk about a model citizen? A guy who wears his heart on his sleeve? Someone who is as respectful of others as he is tenacious in battle?

Phil is your guy.

Mickelson put on the bravest face and played off his emotions in public when it was learned this past season that both his wife and mother were battling cancer. That endeared him to millions. Woods, on the other hand, got caught doing the one thing that seems to divide people as much as politics. Many believe if you cheat on your wife, you've cheated yourself. In the sports world, if you cheat on your wife you cheat yourself and rob the fans of their belief in you.

To the golf novice, all I can say is the next time the FBR Open and Masters roll around, or if you ever get a chance to absorb the atmosphere of a PGA Tour event in the New York City area, just pay close attention to the gallery when Mickelson is on the course. You'd think he's the one with 14 majors, instead of just three.

It's unlike anything true golf fans have ever seen at professional events. Mickelson is a rock star in the truest sense of the description. The reaction he gets by simply walking from the clubhouse to a concession stand rivals any response any athlete in any sport gets anywhere in the civilized world.

And it's not because he wins all the time, is chiseled out of granite or rivals Brad Pitt in the looks department.

When Mickelson tees up, the fans go crazy. When he chunks one, hits a tree, smacks the TV tower or lands in the drink, the fans don't cry out in despair. They saddle up and get even more enthusiastic in advance of his next shot.

Mickelson's Militia -- in deference to Arnie's Army -- taunts opposing players. Its members drink beer like they are at an NFL game. They display the type of behavior that would make Shooter McGavin sick.

But, again, that's not because Phil is dominant, and definitely not because he has anything skills-wise over Tiger. The Woods-Mickelson rivalry has been largely one-sided. Tiger always seems to get the job done when it matters and laps the field when it doesn't. Phil is seemingly always the bridesmaid whenever he and Tiger are on a course.

But that matters little to the fans. That's not to say, of course, that Woods isn't popular. Clearly he is golf. But common folks can't relate with Tiger, while it seems like Phil is the guy in their bowling or softball leagues, the dude you hang with and watch football on Sundays or drink a beer with at happy hour.

Even if he's not. Point is, they want him to be.

Why? It's hard to say really. Maybe it's because Mickelson is genuinely pleasant, while Woods appears cold and ever focused on the task at hand, never on the people that pay big money to watch him play. Maybe it's because Americans love to root for an underdog instead of the team that wins all the time. Ask any Yankees fan what I'm talking about.

Let's also not forget that Tiger is corporate America. He's Nike and American Express and EA Sports. Mickelson has his endorsements, too, but doesn't carry that bigger-than-the-game persona around with him. You don't see him every time you turn the channel. In fact, I can't think off the top of my head who his major sponsors are.

Fans aren't stupid. They like the little guy. Or, at least, they like the big guy who looks like the little guy when he's matched up against Goliath. Throw in an affable personality and you have the next candidate for a higher office, a guy people rally behind simply because he is as opposed to he does.

Woods probably lost millions of fans over his extra-marital transgressions. Where do you think they will land?

On the Mickelson bandwagon is my guess because he has the most to offer.

Golf is a game of etiquette and sportsmanship. While no one is saying Woods doesn't display both, it's fairly obvious he will face an uphill battle going forward trying to win more than tournaments. He's going to have to deal with Mickelson having even bigger galleries. He's going to hear more overt taunting and ill advised camera clicks than he's used to. His par-saving putt won't resonate across the course nearly as much as even Mickelson's bogey-saving stroke.

There's no way to know if Tiger the player will be impacted in any way by his off-the-course shenanigans, just as it remains to be seen what all the expected newfound support will do for Mickelson's game. Many would agree we still haven't seen the best of "Phil the Thrill."

Maybe Tiger's loss will be Lefty's gain.

Maybe, just maybe, golf will become more than a one-horse race.

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