Phil Mickelson Wins Phoenix Open
In Record Fashion
After narrowly missing a 59 on Thursday, Phil Mickelson tied the 72 hole scoring record in crusing to a wire-to-wire win at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Needless to say, it was the best anyone has seen him play in years.
If he can carry this on to Augusta, this year’s Masters’ should be quite interesting.
Phelps Signs With Ping
Now that he’s hung up his Speedo, Michael Phelps has taken up golf. He’ll appear on The Haney Project, and has signed an endorsement deal with Ping:
Ping outfitted Phelps with a custom-fit set of G25 woods, G25 irons, Tour wedges with Gorge Grooves and a new Scottsdale TR putter. For the 6-foot-4 Phelps, who carries a 21 handicap, Ping made the clubs 1 inch longer than standard, 3° upright and built up the grips by 1/32nd of an inch. Phelps also got a unique paint job.
The custom clubs have lettering in red, white and blue, and his name along with the number 22—for the 22 swimming medals he has won.
When he played the 2012 Dunhill Championship last year, Phelps famously sunk a 152 foot putt.
I don’t know how serious Phelps is, or how swimming skills translate to golf, but given his capacity for practice, he may very well get better quickly.
History of Nike Golf
The Oregonian has an interesting article on the history of Nike golf. It didn’t begin with Tiger Woods, in spite of the impression.
Nike Golf Timeline
1984
Bob Wood creates a business plan on golf for Nike.
Nike does very little in the way of golf apparel (promo shirts in small numbers).
The first line of Nike golf shoes is developed. The most successful shoe in the line is called the Turnberry- a “Field General” football upper with a rubber cupsole and metal spikes.
1985
Nike signs its first athlete, Seve Ballesteros of Spain. He appears on the first Nike Golf poster addressing a ball in a tree with the headline, “No Problema.”
Golf footwear is managed as part of the “Cleated/Specialty” footwear department.
The first Golf sales force is hired.
Mark Bisbing is hired as golf’s first sports marketing manager.
Nike signs Peter Jacobsen and Curtis Strange to footwear contracts.
US Women’s Open champion Kathy Baker signs to wear Nike golf shoes.
Alice Miller and Juli Inkster sign to wear Nike shoes.
The first Golf catalog premieres; it features five footwear styles.
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First, the Haney project is still being produced? Fantastic, hope it might actually feature some golf instead of Hank and wife wining and dining. Although she does look good.
Second, did Phil change his driver? I think I have heard him say so about a thousand times in the last week, so I just want to be sure.
I am wondering, is he just trying to make Callaway happy? Did they complain to him about something and so he is sort of digging at them? Or is he digging at Rory just a bit after the showing he has put on after switching to Nike.
Maybe Callaway is throwing $10 at Phil for every Fit Extreme driver they sell.
So Phelps is going to play golf now? And they made him special clubs? That’s quite the transition. I hope he is as exciting to watch on the course as he is in the pool. Could be interesting.
If that’s true, that is really ironic, since it is so often said that amateurs should be playing higher lofted drivers, for Phil, who has a great team at Callaway only now trying out a higher lofted driver with him.
And for the change to affect him that quickly without transition.
The story I’ve heard about Phil and his driver is that he switched to a higher loft. This apparently changed his swing plane for the better.