Meticulous Mickelson leaving little to chance

GOLF:The world number two is in a confident mood ahead of his latest major test writes Philip Reid 

A couple of seasons ago, the joke in the locker-room was that a certain player on the European Tour had more members to his back-room team than Chelsea FC.

These days, a similar jibe could be levelled at Phil Mickelson, who astutely prepares for each major with a back-up team that includes two coaches: one, Butch Harmon, who specialises in the long game; the other, Dave Pelz, who is a short game expert.

The meticulous preparations have worked for Mickelson, who has made the major breakthrough in the US Masters (winner in 2004 and 2006) and the US PGA (winner in 2005) and could have - should have? - won the US Open last year.

But the British Open has proved a more problematic major for Lefty, who has had only one top-10 finish in 14 appearances.

For this, his 15th, Mickelson has left no stone unturned. Having missed the cut at Congressional on the US Tour, he had a quick reconnoitre ahead of last week's Scottish Open and, since his near miss at Loch Lomond, has continued his preparations over the Carnoustie links - usually accompanied by Harmon and Pelz - with an admirable assiduousness.

Mickelson's first experience of links golf came in the 1991 Walker Cup in Portmarnock, and while that lone top-10 in the Open came at Troon three years ago, when he finished third, he is far more comfortable with the unique demands of this type of golf.

"It's taken me time to appreciate and learn how to hit shots in the conditions; now I've come up with a game plan that I'm comfortable with," he said.

"I've found the difference here (from the United States) is that the game plan changes based on the wind. Each hole can change; it goes from a birdie hole to just trying to make par based on the wind.

"You don't know exactly how you're going to attack the course until you actually get onto it, and even then the wind often changes and the holes change. You have to come up with three or four different ways to play."

Certainly, Mickelson's approach at the majors in recent years, attending the venue ahead of the actual championship, has helped him to be more competitive.

"The last few years, I'm kind of excited about how I've improved. It's getting better. But the biggest thing for me was off the tee. I really struggled and now I've been working on those low drivers that enable you to keep it in play. That's going to be the key. If I don't hit the fairway, I have to keep it close enough to where it doesn't get in too much trouble."

Having only recently recovered from a wrist injury sustained in the run-up to the US Open at Oakmont last month, he's grateful the rough is not as bad as it was in 1999.

Mickelson is aware of the history of this championship: "As a kid, I loved watching it on television because it was always on so early back in the States . . . The great thing about the Open is it shows that a player who won it has a game that can be tested by the elements and by different shots, by hitting the ball along the ground as well as in the air. I think that tests a player's complete game."