Newsday (N.Y.): British Open: Phil Mickelson keeps lead in rainy second round

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

TROON, Scotland — This was the kind of day Phil Mickelson rarely gets at home, golf against the elements, when a cool head and a dry grip are no less important than a consistent swing. The kind of day — classic Scotland, wind and rain — that Mickelson, a California kid, said he relishes.

It was the kind of day — gray, gloomy and mainly wet — that Soren Kjeldsen has experienced during much of his golfing life in his native Denmark. “I’m used to playing in bad weather,’’ he said. “You don’t stay inside, because you miss too many days.”

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Copyright © 2016 Newsday. All rights reserved.

Newsday (N.Y.): British Open: Phil Mickelson laments missed chance at history

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

TROON, Scotland — Phil Mickelson’s try at history missed by the distance of a gnat’s eyelash. An 18-foot putt on the final hole of the British Open’s first day agonizingly spun out of the cup, coming to rest oh so close to the first 62 ever in a major golf championship.

“I want to shed a tear right now,” said Mickelson, only half joking. “That putt on 18 was an opportunity to do something historical. I knew it, and with a foot to go, I thought I had it done.

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Copyright © 2016 Newsday. All rights reserved.

Global Golf Post: Young Players, Celebs Revive Pebble Beach

By Art Spander
Global Golf Post

PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA — His legacy lives on the bluffs above Carmel Bay, flourishes in the comfortable tavern called the Tap Room. Bing Crosby is a name out of the past and yet into the future. The new kids on the block, the millenials, may know know of the man, but they do know his golf tournament.

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Copyright 2016 Global Golf Post

The Sports Xchange: Taylor gets 'magical' win at Pebble Beach

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — It would have been a great story if Phil Mickelson had won. It might be an even better story because Vaughn Taylor did win.

Golf, as tennis, is built on personality, recognition, and certainly, success. Mickelson is famous, beloved even, and at 45 is in the final stages of an excellent career. He hadn't finished first in two-and-a-half years, and after he came so close in this AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, just missing a five-foot putt on the final green which would have forced a playoff, you can wonder if he'll ever again finish first.

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Copyright © 2016 The Sports Xchange

The Sports Xchange: Mickelson up 2 at Pebble after 66

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Phil Mickelson always was the most cooperative man on the PGA Tour, amiable, informative.

When Mickelson was called "Lefty," it wasn't only because of the manner he swung a golf club but a term of endearment, an appreciation of his style, easy going, helpful, a nicknamed you'd give your best friend.

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Copyright © 2016 The Sports Xchange