While Tiger Woods takes his rusty game to Dubai, Phil Mickelson will try to defend his title at the Waste Management Phoenix Open this week.
A muscle spasm in his back caused Mickelson to withdraw from the Farmers Insurance Open after the second round on Friday.
The deep treacherous rough at Torrey Pines last week took its toll on players attempting hit full shots from the thick stuff. Mickelson received treatment from the medical team at the Farmers Insurance Open on Thursday.
After posting 69-73 for a two-day total of two-under par, he was eight shots back of the 36-hole leader Jordan Spieth.
Mickelson was quoted by Doug Ferguson of AP News in the AZCentral.com,
“I have the entire year. I’ve got majors coming up. I’ve got other tournaments coming up and I don’t want to get into bad habits. My game is getting pretty sharp to start the year and I could tell I’m making terrible swings out there relative to the way I’ve been swinging.”
A few days rest and treatment plus getting away from Torrey Pines’ nasty rough should do the trick and we should see “Phil the Thrill” back to his old tricks at TPC Scottsdale.
The Waste Management Phoenix Open always draws the biggest crowds of the year with over 500,000 fans expected for the week. One of the big draws is the stadium atmosphere of the par-3 No. 16 at TPC Scottsdale.
Over 30,000 raucous golf fans surround the hole and after some liquid libation reign down cheers, chants and boos for any missed green or poor putt.
It provides a complete departure from the normal quiet and staid golf setting. I seriously doubt Augusta National will be building a stadium around No. 12 for the Masters in the near future.
The Waste Management Phoenix Open has also drawn a very good field.
Webb Simpson, Patrick Reed and Harris English already have PGA Tour wins this season.
Europeans stars, Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington and Ian Poulter will have a go at TPC Scottsdale.
“Golf Boys,” Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler and Ben Crane will entertain the masses and try to win the tournament too.
Other proven winners in the field include, former FedEx Cup Champions, Brandt Snedeker and Bill Haas, as well as, 2011 PGA Champion, Keegan Bradley.
There will also be a few young guys in the field that could win. Hideki Matsuyama had five wins in Japan last season and John Peterson won the Web.com Tour Finals last year.