FEB

17

Filed under: Golf

While we wait for John Daly to do something really dumb this week, Butch Harmon's other, more accomplished client, Phil Mickelson (hey, he even has his Tour card!), is leading the Northern Trust Open midway through Sunday's round.

Mickelson, presumably in an effort to narrow the gap between himself and Tiger Woods, cut ties with long-time coach Rick Smith last season and turned to Harmon. So far, so good. Mickelson's troubles used to revolve mainly around his tee shots -- those big and bold swings that produced either easy short irons to the greens, or treks into the jungle. Last year, he hired noted swing coach Butch Harmon, who toned Mickelson down and made him more accurate. Overall, it's been a plus. Even though Mickelson had 38 fewer eagles and birdies in 2007 than he did in 2006, his scoring average shrunk slightly. And that's the point: Mickelson's fondness for attempting extremely difficult shots at the worst possible times torpedoed previous opportunities at victory, often during majors (hello, 2006 U.S. Open!).

There's still a pretty big difference between the No. 1 and No. 2 player in the world, but Mickelson has been playing more consistent golf the last year or so. And that was the idea when he jettisoned Smith and turned to Harmon. It's a start.Permalink | Read the full post at AOL Fanhouse

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