Mickelson makes a course correction

Accompanied by applause, cheers, whistles and shouts, Phil Mickelson made his way up the 18th fairway at Riviera Country Club, each step taking him closer to the exact place in space where the present collides with history.

Mickelson wore black slacks, a black shirt, black shoes and a black cap for the occasion, and his choice of attire did not go unnoticed by a fan who pressed against the gallery rope along the fairway.

“Black is back, baby.”

And so is Phil, as if he’s ever really been away. The 18th green at Riviera is an amphitheater setting, and on Sunday, the final day of the first Northern Trust Open, the crowd spread out on the slopes of the hill to cheer Mickelson to an important victory.

It wasn’t so much a coronation, because pro golf already has its king and his name is Tiger Woods, but it certainly was a celebration for some kind of royalty. That’s what Mickelson is, and for proof, look up his 33 PGA Tour victories, more than any active player not named Woods.

But Mickelson is ahead of Woods in one category. Woods has never won this tournament, Mickelson now has, and his name is right there on the huge silver trophy, along with such others as Hogan, Snead, Nelson and Palmer.

“Pretty cool,” Mickelson said.

Not long before, he had gently steered a two-foot par putt into the bottom of the hole to end a round of one-under 70 that was enough to defeat Jeff Quinney by two shots. Mickelson removed his cap, shook hands with Quinney and John Rollins, and then showed the fans his loopy grin as they rose to their feet and cheered.

Mickelson had every reason to be pleased. At the trophy presentation, he stood on the soft carpet of grass at the 18th green and posed as he held the trophy while photographers and cameramen gathered three rows deep to shoot his picture.

But moments like this are probably best kept in the mind’s eye.

Mickelson has much to remember from his week at Riviera, and virtually all of it is mind-blasting positive. It included the 64 he shot Friday, the low round of the tournament.

That round didn’t win Mickelson the tournament, but he wouldn’t have won without it, either.

Mickelson also had Butch Harmon in his head. Harmon, Mickelson’s swing coach, has been trying to take the big misses out of his swing.

It must be working. He was two shots clear of Quinney when they arrived at the 18th tee Sunday and Mickelson put his swing thoughts to a test. The safe play is to hit a three-wood. Last year, he hit a driver with a one-shot lead, it went left, he bogeyed the hole and lost in a playoff to Charles Howell III.

Mickelson hit driver again Sunday, explaining that he wanted to feel the full effects of his improved swing, and he came through. He had positive thoughts and it paid off.

There have been plenty of payoffs for Mickelson in his 17-year PGA Tour career. The $1.116 million he earned Sunday pushed him past $47 million in career earnings. Only Woods and Vijay Singh have made more.

Mickelson has got this consistency thing down. He’s won tournaments in five consecutive years. Singh is working on six straight and Woods has a streak of 13. Mickelson has 133 career top 10s, and among active players only Mark Calcavecchia with 137, Woods with 145, Fred Couples with 154, Singh with 158 and Davis Love III with 162 have more.

Except for Woods, Mickelson is younger than them all.

The way things are going, there is always going to be a Woods in the equation for Mickelson in his career.

That may be bad news for Phil, but it’s certainly good news for golf.

This week at Tucson, Woods and Mickelson are on the same golf course again, but that may be as close as they get because it’s a match-play tournament and nothing is guaranteed.

So if we are left to consider Mickelson on his own merits, then they are many, and his place in golf’s hierarchy was established long before his victory at Riviera, over a loaded field that featured 17 of the world’s top 20 ranked players.

At 37, his legacy is still being made. But at a certain time in the future, Mickelson will be remembered as a great champion, and just the kind of winner you’d want and expect at a great and classic course such as Riviera.

That’s why what happened Sunday stands apart in some important ways and deserves special mention. Everyone regards Riviera as a classic, and Mickelson’s winning there makes both of them look even better.

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