Although FedEx golf rankings show Phil Mickelson in ninth place with a chance to win ten million dollar prize at the end of the 2012 season, his weekly record is not so good begging the question, "Is Phil Mickelson making his last stand in golf?" Is it time for Lefty to move on to his next adventure...in baseball?
New baseball trading card for Phil Mickelson?
PGA Tour golf tournaments from January through the present show an uneven season at best for Phil with one win at Pebble Beach, two cuts and one withdrawal at the Memorial in May. Although Mickelson played admirably at the Masters, he considers Augusta National to be one of his favorite and "fun" golf courses to play in spite of course changes which he believes to have hampered his birdie-making abilities.
The U.S. Open, on the other hand, was a complete disaster for Phil this year finishing in a tie for 65th position.
The European Tour may help to put Phil's golf game on the right track for the Open Championship. Mickelson left his family in Rome to grab the last sponsor's exemption in the Scottish Open hoping that preparations here will lead to a win at Royal Lytham next week. Lefty struggled yesterday stating, "I’ve played very poorly, and I added this week because I need to play a bit more,” Today Phil rebounded with a 64 to lie five shots off the pace further proving his uneven tendencies.
So what is a professional golfer who is playing poorly supposed to do? If it's Phil Mickelson, hedge his bets and buy into a baseball team!
Although it has been in the news for weeks that Mickelson wants to buy into the San Diego Padres along with an investment group that includes former Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley, the deal said to be at $800 million is close to finalizing with Phil excited at the prospect of ownership and creating "a personal involvement with the players and the community."
Is Mickelson planning a move on to the next stage of his life, namely a career as a baseball team owner? Well, Phil cited fatigue when he W/D'd at the Memorial and he has Psoriatric arthritis which hampers his ability to play golf. Mickelson is also in the 'over-forty" crowd on the PGA Tour with young guns easily pumping out 350 yard plus drives, forcing Phil to work harder at playing safe, which is not in his DNA.
That being said, I think that if the San Diego Padres deal goes through, expect to see Phil Mickelson sporting a baseball cap in 2013 and ditching his KPMG logo (although there's still plenty of room for that sponsorship on his cap too!)
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photo credit: BittenandBound.com
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