Phil Speaks About Tiger Woods
AFP
Mickelson raring to go, hopes Woods absence is short (AFP) – 5 hours ago SAN DIEGO, California — Phil Mickelson says golf needs Tiger Woods to come back, but while the embattled world number one takes a break Mickelson is primed for "one of the best years of my career." Mickelson opens his 2010 season at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. The event will be without Woods, who is taking an "indefinite break" in the wake of revelations of marital infidelity. Mickelson, who hadn't previously addressed the tabloid frenzy over Woods' personal life publicly, was reluctant to say much, but he did say the game needed its superstar. "The game of golf needs him to come back.
I mean, it's important for him to come back and be a part of the sport," Mickelson said. "But right now he's got a lot more important things going on in his life. Amy and I are good friends with both Tiger and Elin, and we care deeply about how this turns out. But I'm going to choose not to talk about it publicly anymore, and I appreciate your understanding on that." In the meantime, Mickelson himself is eager to pick up where he left off last year, which he finished playing some of the best golf of his career. Mickelson ended 2009 playing some of the best golf of his career. He held off Ernie Els and outplayed Woods to win the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai in November. Earlier in the autumn he had won the USPGA's Tour Championship and helped America claim the Presidents Cup.
"I'm anxious and excited to start the year for the reasons that first of all, I feel ready, but second, at the end of last year I felt like things were starting to really come together," Mickelson said. "Taking some weaknesses and turning them into that strength gives me the confidence or the belief that this could be an exceptional year." Mickelson, who lives nearby and grew up playing at Torrey Pines, is a three-time winner of this event, but his last victory came in 2001. He said that after playing Torrey Pines often as a youth, it took him some years to get to grips with course changes, and he was looking forward to a solid start to the season here. "I'm expecting to have a good week because it's a golf course that I love but also because my game is feeling much sharper starting the season than it has been," he said. And Mickelson believes this week is just the beginning of what could be a special season. "Well, my whole career I've been trying to get to number one," Mickelson said, "I just haven't had much success. "But this year, whether or not Tiger is in the field, I still believe that this is an opportunity for me to compete in majors, to challenge him. I've had some great head-to-head success in the last year or two, and I expect this year, with or without him, to be one of the best years of my career."
Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserve
Mickelson raring to go, hopes Woods absence is short (AFP) – 5 hours ago SAN DIEGO, California — Phil Mickelson says golf needs Tiger Woods to come back, but while the embattled world number one takes a break Mickelson is primed for "one of the best years of my career." Mickelson opens his 2010 season at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. The event will be without Woods, who is taking an "indefinite break" in the wake of revelations of marital infidelity. Mickelson, who hadn't previously addressed the tabloid frenzy over Woods' personal life publicly, was reluctant to say much, but he did say the game needed its superstar. "The game of golf needs him to come back.
I mean, it's important for him to come back and be a part of the sport," Mickelson said. "But right now he's got a lot more important things going on in his life. Amy and I are good friends with both Tiger and Elin, and we care deeply about how this turns out. But I'm going to choose not to talk about it publicly anymore, and I appreciate your understanding on that." In the meantime, Mickelson himself is eager to pick up where he left off last year, which he finished playing some of the best golf of his career. Mickelson ended 2009 playing some of the best golf of his career. He held off Ernie Els and outplayed Woods to win the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai in November. Earlier in the autumn he had won the USPGA's Tour Championship and helped America claim the Presidents Cup.
"I'm anxious and excited to start the year for the reasons that first of all, I feel ready, but second, at the end of last year I felt like things were starting to really come together," Mickelson said. "Taking some weaknesses and turning them into that strength gives me the confidence or the belief that this could be an exceptional year." Mickelson, who lives nearby and grew up playing at Torrey Pines, is a three-time winner of this event, but his last victory came in 2001. He said that after playing Torrey Pines often as a youth, it took him some years to get to grips with course changes, and he was looking forward to a solid start to the season here. "I'm expecting to have a good week because it's a golf course that I love but also because my game is feeling much sharper starting the season than it has been," he said. And Mickelson believes this week is just the beginning of what could be a special season. "Well, my whole career I've been trying to get to number one," Mickelson said, "I just haven't had much success. "But this year, whether or not Tiger is in the field, I still believe that this is an opportunity for me to compete in majors, to challenge him. I've had some great head-to-head success in the last year or two, and I expect this year, with or without him, to be one of the best years of my career."
Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserve
Labels: phil mickelson, tiger woods
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