Mickelson is back with another story for Story Time with Phil.
Mickelson uploaded a video to his social media accounts on Thursday showing him sitting in a golf cart. (Note for Phil: you need help with your lighting. Bring back the Phireside Chat! Also, bring the Phireside Chat back.
Phil will do what Phil does. Phil may not be able to get away with it, but the ghosts Bobby Jones, Clifford Roberts, and other club powerbrokers would frown upon such an act.
He starts by telling how, in 2004, Dave Pelz, his short-game expert introduced a towel exercise that involved him placing towels at distances up to 175 yard and then taking aim. Mickelson credits this drill for helping him win his major at the 2004 Masters.
Augusta National’s current practice facility, which is more than 400 yards in length, was opened for the Masters in 2010. Before that, the East and the West were two separate locations. Mickelson preferred to practice his towel drills at the East. He claims that when he arrived in 2005, a sign read “East practice tee only for short game.”
Phil will continue the story.
Phil recalled: “After the Champions Dinner I let the champions go first and then I went down Magnolia Lane, parked the car and crawled under the magnolias. I took the sign, wiggled and wiggled, lifted and yanked it, threw it in the SUV, and left.” “I show up on the morning of the tournament and there is no sign. I begin my drill, and I continue it for a week.”
Story time with Phil (me:)Enjoy
pic.twitter.com/koePrh38Il
— Phil Mickelson August 25, 2020 HTML0
The sign returned a year later. Mickelson would not steal the sign again, even if he did it once. Evidently, he did. There was just one problem.
Phil said, “I’m going do my towel drill the next day. There’s a sign right there.” It never occurred to me that there were cameras everywhere. There’s video of me crawling underneath these magnolias, with the guys saying ‘Look at this fool, what’s his doing?’
Even Mickelson found it difficult to believe the story, but he dispelled any doubt.
Mickelson tells us at the end of his video: “A lot of people might bet on the fact that this story is not true.” “I don’t bet (said straight-faced)” So I’m going to refuse it, but I wouldn’t do that either because …”. He then sticks the famous sign in the frame of the video and says with his goofiest grin: “It’s true.”
