Mickelson Puts Concerns to Rest

Here’s another reason why it’s nice to be a pro golfer: a five-month vacation. That’s a pretty fine work break for anyone, and Phil Mickelson enjoyed his near half-year away from the rigors of big-time tournament golf so much, he didn’t even miss his job until a month ago.

The last time Mickelson played a PGA Tour event was late August at the NEC Invitational. So when he showed up to play his first competitive round Wednesday at the Bob Hope, he would be so rusty he would creak, right?

Mickelson shot an eight-under 64 at Tamarisk, nine birdies and a bogey. He was so unprepared to play that he birdied the first four holes. He also birdied the last two, thus starting fast, ending fast and announcing his comeback in a very big way.

“I’m just excited to be back out playing golf again,” he said.

Well, who wouldn’t be with a score like that?

Mickelson, who would have played in the Ryder Cup in late September if not for the events of Sept. 11, decided to forget about tournament golf after that so he could be with his wife, Amy, and enjoy the birth of their second child. Sophia Isabel was born Oct. 23.

The last two weeks, Mickelson has been working on his game at the Titleist test center in Carlsbad, especially his short game, or from 150 yards in. He is carrying a fourth wedge because he thinks that’s going to come in handy in 2002.

Last year was not Mickelson’s best year, but it might have been his most consistent. He won twice (he won four times in 1996 and again in 2000) and he was No. 2 on the money list. But he also had 13 top-10 finishes, three of them in the majors--at the Masters, the U.S Open and the PGA.

He has not won a major, and while that’s clearly on his wish list, Mickelson said he isn’t going public with any goals this year.

“I’m going to keep those personal. The last time I shared my mind-set heading into a tournament was at the PGA and it didn’t go over well. It didn’t come across that well. I guess it wasn’t printed that well.”

What Mickelson said at the PGA was that he wasn’t thinking about only winning a major, but by how many shots he wanted to win. And he’s right. It didn’t come across that well.

He has four chances this year to win as many majors by as much as he can.

Club News

After all the fuss about Callaway’s ERC II driver that the USGA ruled illegal, Callaway is going to surprise some people with a new product at next week’s merchandise show in Orlando, Fla. Here’s the headline: ERC--it’s legal.

No, not a legal ERC II driver, but legal ERC fairway woods. The woods conform to USGA specifications because it has decided that clubs with lofts higher than 15 degrees are not considered driving clubs.

Fun With Numbers

News item: Justin Timberlake of ‘N Sync has 12 security guards escorting him off the last green at Indian Wells.

Reaction: Wait until Tiger Woods hears about this. He’ll want 24.

Fuzzy Thinking

Fuzzy Zoeller makes his senior tour debut at the Senior Skins game on Maui next weekend and plays the Royal Caribbean Classic in Florida for his first full-field event. Zoeller says he already is anticipating problems. Said Zoeller: “Well, I think I am going to have to fight my caddie for the cart.”

More Fuzzy

Arnold Palmer’s prediction on Zoeller’s senior debut: “He’ll come out making a lot of noise.” That would be really stunning, wouldn’t it?

Personality, Plus

Ryder Cup captain Curtis Strange on one part of his job description: “They tell me I have to deal with 12 different personalities. Actually, there are more than that. Some of them have dual personalities.”

It’s the Cheese

Jerry Kelly is from Madison, Wis., which makes him a Green Bay Packer fan ... a big Packer fan. He watched the Packer-San Francisco 49er game at 7:30 a.m. in his hotel room in Honolulu on Sunday before beginning the last round of the Sony Open with the lead.

The Packers won and so did Kelly, who admits to owning one of those foam, triangular cheeseheads.

“I’ve actually got a cheese cup holder,” said Kelly. “My wife tried to throw it away when we moved, but I snuck it out of the trash.”

On Target

News item: For a Christmas gift, newlywed Gary Nicklaus, an avid hunter, gave his wife Amy a bow.

Reaction: She’s on her own for arrows.

Try Focusing

Scott Halleran, a photographer for Getty Images, had a close call Wednesday at the 16th tee of the Bob Hope at Indian Wells, where a drive by A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys put a dent in the metal pole holding Halleran’s camera. McLean apologized and autographed the monopod.

Birdies, Bogeys, Pars

The 2001 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic earned $1.5 million for charity and since 1960, the tournament has contributed

$35.7 million.

La Purisima in Lompoc is running a special through January--a foursome pays $100 in green fees. Details: www.lapurisimagolf.com.

In the PGA of America’s section awards for Southern California, Greg Frederick of Oakmont Country Club is pro of the year, Roger Gunn of Tierra Rejada Golf Club is teacher of the year, Johnny Gonzales of Sun Valley Golf Club is junior golf leader, Mark Pailthorp of Los Serranos is the Horton Smith Trophy winner and Patrick Casey of Brentwood Country Club is the Bill Strausbaugh Award winner.

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This Week

SENIOR PGA TOUR

MasterCard Championship

When: Friday-Sunday.

Where: Hualalai Resort Golf Club (7,053 yards, par 72), Hualalai, Hawaii.

Purse: $1.5 million. Winner’s share: $258,000.

TV: PAX (Friday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.) and CNBC (Saturday-Sunday, 3-5 p.m.).

Last year: Larry Nelson won the first of five 2001 titles, beating Jim Thorpe by a stroke. .

Note: The tournament is limited to tour winners in the last two years and major champions in the last five seasons.

On the Net: www.pgatour.com