Mickelson Elected to World Golf Hall of Fame

Of course it’s no big surprise that Phil Mickelson has been elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame. The guy has won 39 PGA Tour events and he’s only 41 years old. Only eight others have more PGA wins and hopefully we’ll see many more victories before Phil’s career ends. Most golf fans are pretty familiar with his story even though it’s often overshadowed by the most dominant player of the era. (Yes, of course I’m speaking of Tiger Woods). Phil’s is a story worth noting and maybe someday if he adds a few more victories, his story would even make a good movie.

Why? Because he’s a guy who knows what he stands for, he’s endured some serious hardships, he’s far from perfect and most of all, because he keeps showing up, talking to the press and giving his all. Phil Mickelson at any other moment in time, might have been the most dominant player on the PGA Tour… but at this moment, he has only been a distant second in that race. His creative shot-making puts us in awe, yet his struggles with weight, fitness and the discipline for both, make him one of us. We scream at the TV when he makes “bad” decisions, but quietly think of our own golf failures and smile that someone so talented isn’t so different after all. We say he’s too honest in press conferences, but then criticize him for seeming a little phoney. We judge him for tinkering too much, for equipment changes, for swing coach changes and even for the way he dresses.

In the end, or the middle, or where ever you think we are, aren’t we really just getting the privilege of watching Phil Mickelson, an exraordinary talent and a gentle man, grow up and grow older and correct his course along the way. He does much of it with the public watching and to my mind, he’s done it fairly gracefully. In the last three years, he has been dealt some of life’s more difficult blows and if his perspective on golf needed any adjusting, it surely has been adjusted. With his victory at The Masters a year after his wife and mother were diagnosed with breast cancer, Phil showed that he has the mental toughness to overcome the very real distractions that life provides. He’s even won since being diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis last year. It’s a disease that can be extremely debilitating and we’ve seen Phil take it on with new discipline in his diet and as an advocate thru his website OnCoursewithPhil.com.

We’ve seen him go from being a young man who had nothing except golf on which to focus, to a middle-aged man with much on his plate. He’s continued to rack up achievements on the golf course through it all. We’ve already laughed at him and cried with him, but the end of this movie could still be better… Wouldn’t it be something to see him achieve the grand slam or his goal of 50 wins or even somehow climb to the #1 spot in the world for the first time, at 40-something?

So Phil, Congratulations on this achievement, but please don’t rest on your laurels. There’s a movie to be made, but the ending can get even better. Your stock will likely only go up no matter what you accomplish, but just so you know, you’ve got some fans who want to see more!