It was quite a contrast. One day after one player tried his best not to answer questions, another did exactly the opposite. Two days before he tees off in his 14th US Open, Rory McIlroy stood before the assembled media and offered his usual honest take on the world of golf.
Had Phil Mickelson played one of his previous 30 US Opens like he played this press conference – measured, reserved, conservative, straight – he might have this national championship to his name.
On the eve of the first edition of the LIV Golf Series, and for the first time since February, Phil Mickelson faced the media and having to publicly explain the past four months.
It’s nothing personal. Tiger Woods made that abundantly clear on Tuesday morning at the PGA Championship—that his disagreement with Phil Mickelson, the defending champion whose absence is dominating chatter at Southern Hills, is strictly a difference in opinion.
In the annals of golfing weirdness, here’s a double whammy for the ages: the PGA Championship will be played this week not where it was originally scheduled to be played and without its 51-year-old defending champion in the field.
