Phil Mickelson envisions family first at his Calgary golf club

Minutes late to a news conference unveiling their vision for Mickelson National, Phil Mickelson and course owner Barry Ehlert arrived with smiles and an explanation.

“We got pulled over by the police,” said Ehlert with a laugh, coming clean on the fact he couldn’t produce his insurance or registration papers while en route to The Hamptons Golf Club.

“I said to the officer, ‘Listen, I don’t know if you know who Phil Mickelson is, but we are on our way to a press conference.”

The next thing Ehlert knew they were on their way — with a strict warning, of course.

Even without a club in his hand, golf’s short-game master managed to get out of another jam.

Known worldwide for his big balls on the course and his craftiness around the green, it shouldn’t be surprising the five-time major winner revealed Thursday he’ll be trying to pull off another miracle at the Springbank site by building a course that is all things to everyone — something designers have tried in vain for years.

“The expressed purpose is to create a family development that introduces the game to young kids and is enjoyable to players of all skill levels, but in the back of our mind to host a tour event that could be challenging for the tour players and is also enjoyable to the spectator,” said Mickelson, who was announced as a captains pick for the American President’s Cup team on Tuesday before jetting to Calgary for two days of on-site course inspection, for Thursday’s news conference at The Hamptons and to enjoy a meet-and-greet with members.

“It’s really not a juggling act — all it is is just putting in a little thought and effort. I want people walking off this golf course saying, ‘That was really fun and a good challenge.’ ”

The father of three says his passion for building a course suitable for young families to play together stems from his days growing up in San Diego, where he and his dad played golf at Balboa Park municipal golf course everyday after school.

“One of my favourite moments was spending time with my father playing golf after school — we’d play until dark and would get stuck on the golf course, and we’d have to hike down a canyon and back up in the pitch-black,” said Lefty, whose course layout includes allowing golfers to go on two, four and six-hole loops ending back at the clubhouse.

“By creating these routes where we can play a handful of holes allows families to come out with their kids to play until dark. These are the type of details I think are important.”

The course will also include tee-boxes for juniors ranging from 50 to 150-yards from each pin, a year-round practice facility, a lounge in the clubhouse basement and having the mounding surrounding the 18th green turned into sledding hills each winter.

Using the word nuance almost as many times as he’s won on the PGA Tour (42 times), Mickelson truly seems engaged in a 7,600-yard project he hopes will play host to the Canadian Open, several years after the course’s soft opening in 2017.

Mickelson revealed it wasn’t his first trip to Calgary, citing a jaunt north 30 years ago he fondly remembers.

“I was 14 or 15 and played the Junior America’s Cup, and we ended up playing at the Calgary Country Club — it was my first exposure to team golf and my first exposure to Calgary, and it was spectacular,” said the 45-year-old, who had represented the U.S. in international team play more than any other man.

“The green and blues and the snow-capped mountains are colours we just don’t see in our area. It’s such a great site.”

Mickelson’s course-designing partner Rick Smith says the World Golf Hall-of-Fame member isn’t just paying lip service to this project, he’s using an eye that’s seen courses around the world to hone in on exactly what can satisfy the needs of junior golfers, the average hack and tour players alike.

“Golf is getting too difficult and too time consuming, and Phil and I feel that responsibility to grow the game of golf,” Smith said.

“More than anything, we want this to be fun. We don’t want anybody to lose a ball on this course.”

With perfect comedic timing, Mickelson interjected.

“Some of you we can’t help,” he said with a laugh.

Indeed, some jams even Lefty can’t get out of.

Phil Mickelson ready to prove his doubters wrong

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Phil Mickelson needs to finish at least third in the BMW Championship to book travel to Atlanta for next week’s FedExCup Playoffs-ending Tour Championship by Coca-Cola.

While the odds are long — he hasn’t won since the2013 British Open and has just three top-10s this year — Mickelson’s in good spirits heading into Thursday’s start of the BMW at Conway Farms Golf Club. In large part because he knows he’s going on a long voyage to South Korea for the Presidents Cup after Jay Haas used one of his two captain’s picks on the member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

While it was a controversial pick considering his form the past 18 months, Mickelson, who was 29th in the Presidents Cup standings, is more than ready to prove his detractors wrong.

He is off at 1:15 p.m. ET with Keegan Bradley and Fabian Gomez.

Mickelson, 45, has played on every Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup team since 1994. Haas’ selection marked just the second time he was a captain’s pick.

“This is the most excited I've been this late in the year because I'm looking forward to being on the team,” said Mickelson, who is ranked 23rd in the world and stands 61st on the FedExCup. “It's meant a lot to me to be a part of that team, and I want to play well and I want to get some momentum. Also, it gave me a little bit of a boost, and my game feels like it's been coming around and feels fairly sharp, so we'll see. But I'm more excited to be playing right now than I have at any time at this point in quite a few years.”

Van Cynical Mailbag: Why Was Phil Mickelson a Presidents Cup Pick?

If I had two wild-card picks, I’d take Starsky (but not Hutch) and Hooch (but definitely not Turner).

Jay Haas, captain of the U.S. Presidents Cup team, surprised some observers by adding Phil Mickelson to his squad when he announced his two selections Tuesday.

You remember Phil. He last won a tournament a little more than two years ago and in the last two seasons, has managed all of four top-10 finishes.

This year, Phil ranks 182nd in greens hit in regulation and 187th in proximity to the pin, an awful display of ballstriking for a guy with 42 wins.

Yet despite those numbers, he somehow seemed like a better pick than Charley Hoffman, third-place finisher at Deutsche Bank and No. 13 on the points list; Brooks Koepka, Brandt Snedeker, J.B. Holmes or any of the 19 players who finished higher on the points list than Phil.

Yes, Phil has teed it up in the last 10 Presidents Cups. He walks in Tour history.

Interesting pick, Capt. Haas.

Let’s go to the Van Cynical Mailbag…

Van Cynical, Just torch Jay Haas for ignoring the obvious and leaving Koepka off the team.—Brian Rosenwald via Twitter

As Alex Trebec likes to say, “In the form of a question, please!” I agree, BriRo, that I wouldn’t have made Phil a pick. I’m not sure Koepka was the obvious other choice, especially since he did a Jordan Spieth and missed the cuts in both the Barclays and the Deutsche Bank Championship (after a strong three-week run before that). I could make a case for Hoffman and Snedeker and even Holmes, too, as well as Koepka.

Hey, Sicklemania, Why did Jay Haas pick Phil? The future is with young guns like Koepka. Reward the old man with an assistant captaincy.—David Troyan via Twitter

Officially, Haas said the other players on the team and the vice captains all wanted Phil. Maybe this is like adding Hank Aaron to an All-Star team late in his career when he no longer really deserved it. Or maybe this was a Tour panicking about having a TV show in Korea during football season, without Tiger, Rory or Phil and thus without ratings. Or maybe it’s true, the rest of the team loves having Phil the Clubhouse Lawyer around. He is an uplifting, fun, positive force. Still, I’d take a good putter—like Snedeker—before Phil in this situation.

Hey, G-Unit, How does Phil respond to being a Prez Cup pick? Does this give him the inspiration to play well in Korea and help get his game back on track?—Bustinpar via Twitter

Gee, I didn’t realize he needed inspiration to play well, Busty. Those last three major championships didn’t fire him up? Phil has had all year to get his game on track. And all of 2014, too. Two years, no wins, and barely even a close call. That’s not to say Phil can’t star in the Prez Cup. He can make a 7 and lose only one hole in the process. And he’ll have a partner in the team matches. But if you’re basing your picks on who has played well over the summer, not who has played well over a career or who has potential to play well, Phil wasn’t your guy.

Vans, What did you think of the Presidents Cup picks?—Elaine via Twitter

Bill Haas, at No. 11 on the points list, was a slam dunk. Phil, at No. 30, was a reach. It would’ve been a good time to think long-term and get some younger guys who earned it some experience before the next Ryder Cup, whether it be Koepka, Holmes, Hoffman, Horschel or Snedeker. Phil may play really well but the U.S. missed a chance to develop some talent in the bullpen.

Van Cynical, Isn't one solution to the World Rankings mess to keep system as is but to release rankings less regularly?—Lytham via Twitter

That’s like saying the solution to the Nicholas Cage problem is for Nicholas Cage to appear in fewer movies. No, wait, that one actually works. You’re on to something there, Lytham, but fewer releases doesn’t solve what’s wrong with the world rankings. Plus, somebody, somewhere, will figure out the points each week, anyway. That cat is permanently out of the bag. So it’s not a solution.

Vans, How hard are you laboring (see what I did there?) to find a way that, on paper, the Internationals can win the Prez Cup?—Brian Bailey via Twitter

I’m not laboring at all. That is Nick Price’s problem. You have to remember that this is match play, not stroke play. You don’t have to shoot low, you just have to beat the one guy (or one duo) that you’re playing. It’s like outrunning a grizzly bear. You don’t have to be faster than the bear, just faster than your soon-to-be late buddy. Anything is possible in match play, Bailbondsman. I would not underrate Anirban Lahiri, Hideki Matsuyama or Danny Lee. They’re legit.

Van Wisconsinite, Did you get a final tally on broken ankles at Whistling Straits? Nasty terrain for spectators.—Burt Litwin via Twitter

I did not, Litwit. I was afraid I couldn’t make it to the medical tent without blowing out my last remaining lateral meniscus.

Van the Man, What percent chance that Tiger plays in next year’s Ryder Cup?—Scott Endres via Twitter

Davis Love is a member of the Friends Of Tiger Club. Also, Tiger seems to be on an upswing. I’ll say 65 percent chance that Tiger ends up on the team.

Van Cynical, Does anyone do more with less than my second-favorite cheesehead, Jerry Kelly?—Mr. Fairway via Twitter

You beg the question, Fairlawn, of who’s your fave cheesehead. Andy North? Don Iverson? Jim Gantner? Fighting Bob LaFollette? To agree with you would be to diminish Kelly’s record, which speaks for itself—three wins, $27 million in winnings. Is he an over-achiever? Maybe. Definitely an achiever.

Sickle, Do the elite tour players really care about the Olympics? Will they have a course to play in Brazil?—Andrew Polson via Twitter

The course is allegedly ready to go, Polecat. It’s hard to get a read on what Tour players really think about it. Who wouldn’t enjoy being part of the Olympic theater? It’s a glorious new stage for golfers. That said, I don’t think any of them are going to prepare for it like a major championship.

Phil Mickelson applauds Solheim Cup team

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- On the last day of his PGA Tour season, Phil Mickelson spent time on the driving range at Conway Farms -- watching the Solheim Cup.

He pulled the matches up on his phone and watched as the United States overcame a 10-6 deficit to defeat Europe 14 1/2 to 13 1/2 for the biggest final session comeback in the event's 25-year history.

"It was incredible, I loved it. I was so happy for them," said Mickelson, who has played on 10 U.S. Ryder Cup teams and will make his 11th Presidents Cup appearance in three weeks. "It was great. [U.S. captain] Juli [Inkster] is such a great lady, and the team after losing a couple ... it was the same type of comeback we had in '99 at the Ryder Cup. We were down 4 points.

"It was awesome. We were happy for them. I sent her a text congratulating them."

Mickelson didn't say the effort inspired him during his final round of the BMW Championship, but he did shoot his best score of the week, a 4-under-par 67 that wasn't nearly enough to get him through to next week's Tour Championship.

For the second straight year, Mickelson failed to qualify for the season-ending event, also failing to win.

"This offseason is going to be a little bit different for me," said Mickelson, a five-time major winner with 42 PGA Tour victories, but none since the 2013 Open. "I have a little bit of work that I need to complete on my golf swing. I haven't been on plane; I've been a little step, and that's led to some poor ball-striking and it gets progressively worse with the longer stuff.

"However I'm excited about where it's gone the last couple of months and I think another three-four months in the offseason and I look forward to come back ready for January."

Mickelson has one more event prior to his offseason, the Presidents Cup, where he is an at-large selection for captain Jay Haas. Mickelson finished just 30th in points after a season that hasn't seen him post a top-10 since June.

But he was still picked for his 21 consecutive U.S. team, and is looking forward to the competition.

"I think I'm going to be a good partner for four-balls," Mickelson said, referring to the best-ball competition. "I think I'll make a lot of birdies, and having a partner to cover the mistakes that I've made will be nice."

Despite his struggles, Mickelson said he is optimistic about next year.

"My scoring is the last thing that'll come around," he said. "Even though the scoring may not be too noticeable, what I'm noticing is a trend up in the quality of the shots that I'm hitting."

Phil Mickelson's season ends, but he sees glimpses of improvement

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Phil Mickelson capped one of his worst seasons with a 4-under-par 67 Sunday in the final round of the BMW Championship, finishing in the middle of the pack and well outside the top 30 who move on to next week’s FedExCup Playoffs finale.

Mickelson, who hasn’t won since capturing his fifth major championship in the 2013 British Open, had just three top-10s in 19 starts this year. But the winner of 42 PGA Tour titles was far from disgruntled when he finally emerged from the scoring trailer at Conway Farms Golf Club.

“I’m very optimistic about the direction that my game is heading,” said Mickelson, who nonetheless will not play again on the PGA Tour until 2016.  The Tour Championship byCoca-Cola begins Thursday at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. “This offseason is going to be a little bit different for me. I have a little bit of work that I need to complete on my golf swing. I haven’t been on plane; I’ve been a little steep, and that has led to some poor ball-striking and it gets progressively worse with the longer stuff.

“However, I’m excited about where it’s gone the last couple of months and I think another 3-4 months in the offseason, I look forward to coming back ready for January. In the meantime, in the next two weeks, I’m hoping I can get it there, too. I saw glimpses.”

Mickelson’s season isn’t over. He will head to South Korea for the Presidents Cup after U.S. captain Jay Haas used one of his two captain’s pick on the member of the Hall of Fame. Mickelson has played on every Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup team since 1994. Mickelson said the entire team is excited, has a good blend of youth and experience and plenty of talent and camaraderie.

“I think I’m going to be a good partner for fourballs,” he said. “I think I’ll make a lot of birdies, and having a partner to cover the mistakes that I’ve made will be nice.”

He made far more mistakes earlier in the year than he has of late, even though his scores didn’t reflect improvement.

“Each day I’ve continued to hit more and more good shots,” he said. “The divot pattern is matching what the ball is doing. I’m just hitting the shots that I’m expecting to hit more and more often.

“ … My scoring is the last thing that’ll come around. Even though the scoring may not be too noticeable, what I’m noticing is a trend up in the quality of shots that I’m hitting.”