A Good Phil Mickelson Story Courtesy of Lawrence Donegan

Golf blogging is taking off, people!  The latest in evidence is actually new competition in the space from a well-respected British journalist.  Lawrence Donegan of the UK paper The Guardian now has a golf blog.  And it's witty and funny.  You might expect that from the British scribes who are awfully witty in their writing style.  It translates beautifully into a blog.  I highly recommend checking it out when you can.

Anyway, he had a post talking about whether he is a Tiger or a Phil guy.  We've had that chat here before, but in the context of that discussion, he tells this anecdote about Mickelson.

Here's a little story that I probably shouldn't be telling but what the hell - a really god pal of mine was seriously ill at the end of last year and was in hospital for almost three months. He's a golf writer. Anyway, Mickelson was constantly in touch with throughout - texting, calling. There was no fuss, no "aren't you lucky I'm calling you" undertone...that's as it should be, of course. But sometimes I get the impression that these "superstars" think they're doing people a favour by actually acknowledging their existence.

As for Mickelson's "know all" reputation... this is popular in the locker rooms. I would explain it thus - most professional golfers are bores, obsessed with themselves and golf. Mickelson is actually interested in other things and other people. His peers can't understand that.

He comes down as a Phil guy.  I'm a Phil guy personally, but these are the kinds of stories that have gone untold in public before now that are perfect for a golf blog written by a professional scribe with this kind of access.