Mickelson's Game Face Is On

CHASKA, Minn. -- It's always dangerous to read a lot into a person's tone and body language, because what might look like welling up could actually be an oncoming sneeze or an itch on the bottom of a foot. But here goes, anyway.

I think Phil Mickelson is getting a little tired of the Phil Mickelson story.

He talked to reporters after his practice round Wednesday for the PGA Championship, and someone asked him how nice it had been to have golf as an escape this summer, to put things at home out of his mind and think about golf.

"What do you mean this summer?'' he said. "Say it again."

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So he was asked again.

Blank. Stare.

"I don't really know where to go with that.''

It wasn't anger at the question so much as Mickelson simply didn't understand. To him, golf is not an escape from his wife's and mother's breast cancer treatments, it's what he does. It's who he is. He's not escaping; he's living.

You might not be able to see it on TV, but in person, this is an entirely different Mickelson than the one we saw in June, when he came back to play the U.S. Open after getting the news about his wife, Amy.

Mickelson has his game face on now.

We've seen supportive crowds becoming a big factor in, say, football and basketball games, someone asked. Does it work like that in golf?

"I'm not really sure how it works in golf,'' he said. "From what I saw today, the fans have been supportive of all the players ...

"You still have to hit the shots. You still have to make the putts and shoot a low score if you expect to win, and nobody else can pull the trigger for you.''

In other words, stop the pity.

This shouldn't come across as Mickelson being cold about his personal life, but rather about him deciding to live his life. People seem to be shocked that he isn't curled up in a ball in the corner of his living room, but people everywhere have to deal with this, with cancer. That was part of his message, that and thanks for caring.

It's a balance.

But you can't just stop everything. Mickelson was talking a little louder than he was in June, and a little clearer, as if he might be getting his edge back.

"It (fan support) has been flattering,'' he said. "But what's been interesting is to see how this affects to many people. Everybody has a personal story, because it's affected everybody's life.

"Whether it's their mother, sister, or whether it's breast cancer or another form of cancer, it's shocking to me to see how this disease has affected so many people.''

See what he did there, going straight from talking about fans on his side to talking about others.

Deflecting. And what about his own life, and his wife's and mother's treatments?

"It's been an interesting year,'' he said. "We've had some highs and lows, and I think that we'll have some more highs and lows for the next year or two.

"I think in the end, everything's going to be fine. But right now, I think things are day-to-day for us. That's both golf and not golf.''

Golf was an escape for Mickelson when he came back for the U.S. Open in June. He said at the time that the golf course is always where he had gone to work out his problems. He skipped the British Open, while Amy went through the early stages of her treatment.

But on the course, not a lot has changed. He still has a tendency not to come through in the big moment. At the Masters, before Amy was diagnosed, he made a big last-round push, and then blew it. It was typical Phil.

At the U.S. Open, with sentiment for him flowing, he made his push and then ... blew it.

But that wasn't typical Phil, anymore, was it? It was distracted Phil, understandable Phil.

Things are set up for the same type of forgiveness this week at Hazeltine National Golf Club, but maybe Mickelson would almost prefer the fans to get their edge back, too.

In June, Mickelson was relating every experience, every plan, every thought to what was happening in his family. It was all so new and fresh, and he was on a learning curve about the disease.

On Tuesday, he was willing to answer direct questions about his family, but was not offering up anything on his own.

The last thing any true competitor wants is an excuse and pity. He's not looking for an escape.

Sometimes it's hard to get a read on the real Mickelson and what he's really thinking and feeling. But this is his game face. That, or a really bad sneeze was coming on.

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com