Phil Mickelson’s recent wrist injury did provide one benefit Tuesday. There was so much attention paid to his physical problem he was asked only one question about his infamous meltdown in the U.S. Open at Winged Foot last year.
“Oh, I’ll still hear about it,” Mickelson said when asked if he ever expects the bad memory to fade. “Of course.”
This was supposed to be the week Mickelson redeemed himself for his 18th-hole disaster in 2006. After his solid victory at the Players Championship, he looked to be the clear favorite in this year’s U.S. Open, which begins Thursday at Oakmont.
But during his methodical preparation for the tournament, he apparently overdid it while trying to hit balls out of Oakmont’s rough a few weeks ago.
A tweak in his left wrist forced him to withdraw from the Memorial after 11 holes of the first round. He got a cortisone shot last week to deal with the inflammation.
Mickelson showed up Tuesday wearing a brace on his left wrist. He has played only nine holes here in two days of practice rounds and has barely used a driver.
Mickelson said he is going to give it a go Thursday, but don’t expect much. Players wearing a wrist brace don’t win the U.S. Open.
“I probably won’t be pain-free like I had hoped,” Mickelson said. “But I should be able to have it be manageable as long as I don’t aggravate it or hit in the rough.”
Mickelson’s audience laughed at the remark, because his driving problems are the reason he switched from Rick Smith to Butch Harmon as his instructor. Once he finds the rough, that’s where the problems begin.
The high grass at Oakmont is as thick and penal as any in a U.S. Open. Trying to hack out of the rough with a sore wrist isn’t the doctor’s recommended prescription.
“You don’t really want to have the injury he has at this golf tournament,” Ernie Els said. “You can almost get away with it more at the Masters or the British Open. But we all know what the rough is like here. Hopefully for him, he doesn’t do much more harm to the hand.”
Tiger Woods knows about trying to play a U.S. Open with a sore wrist. He withdrew during the second round at Shinnecock Hills in 1995 when his wrist couldn’t take the aggravation.
“I couldn’t hang on to the club,” Woods said. “His injury is on his trailing hand, so that makes it a little bit easier, but probably not much. Out of this rough, to try and advance the ball is going to be a difficult test even if you’re healthy.”
Said Els: “If it’s really bad and you can’t perform to where you want to perform, you can’t play. It’s as simple as that.”
Mickelson said he wouldn’t play if this were a regular PGA Tour event. He hasn’t competed in the four weeks since winning the Players Championship. Instead of playing the week before a major, as has become his custom, Mickelson didn’t touch a club last week. Even if the wrist were fine, he would have to contend with a certain amount of rust.
The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for Mickelson. He looked terrific in winning the Players Championship, especially with the driver. Harmon convinced him that wrapping the club around his neck doesn’t bode well for control.
If Mickelson had used his new swing last year at Winged Foot, he probably wouldn’t have bounced his drive off a tent on the 18th hole.
“I got the feeling with Mickelson that he was absolutely at the top of his career, top of his game, with what happened Sunday at the Players Championship,” NBC golf analyst Johnny Miller said. “He found that tightened-up swing and that cut shot that would work at Oakmont perfectly, and the momentum from the Players Championship would be amazing. Then he hurts his left wrist.”
The injury has taken some of the juice out of the tournament. The major story line was supposed to be whether Mickelson was ready to overtake Woods using Woods’ old coach. Now observers are wondering whether Mickelson will even make it to Friday.
To compensate for the left wrist, Mickelson said, he wound up “overstressing the other wrist.” His doctor has advised him not to sign autographs after his rounds. Considering he is one of the most accessible players on tour, there will be plenty of disappointed kids this week.
With four close calls in previous Opens, and given what happened to him last year, this is the one tournament Mickelson wants to win. But apparently he went too far in his preparation.
“I’m trying not to go in with too many expectations as far as how I finish and so forth,” Mickelson said. “As Thursday starts and we get to Sunday, I want to continue to improve my ball-striking without aggravating my wrist.”
That’s probably the best Mickelson can hope for this week.
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esherman@tribune.com
*BUNKER MENTALITY: Read daily updates from Oakmont in Ed Sherman’s blog at chicagosports.com/edsherman
