The wrist brace came off. The wrist brace went back on.
Phil Mickelson fidgeted with it on a rare visit to the fairway, examined it while waiting for yet another shot from the rough. Around the green, it was on to begin the round and then off later when things started getting good.
"I don't need it for putting," Mickelson said at the US Open on Thursday. "I don't know why I didn't do that earlier."
It always seemed to have his attention, and with good reason. It's not often the second-ranked golfer in the world plays with something that looks like it was purchased at a tenpin bowling alley wrapped around his inflamed left wrist.
Funny looking
It looked funny and felt odd. Photographers couldn't stop taking pictures of it, people pointed at it and there was more talk about the wrist than Tiger Woods' upcoming baby.
All which was just fine with Lefty. Because it worked.
Without it, Mickelson might never have teed it up in the first round. Without it, he might have quit after a few holes of flailing away in the deep grass, a place he visited with great regularity.
With it, he managed to get in 18 holes for the first time in nearly three weeks.
With it, he was able to par the last eight holes and finish with a somewhat surprising 74.
No surprise then that it was still firmly around his wrist as Mickelson got behind the wheel of a red sports utility vehicle in the evening and drove away from Oakmont Country Club with a satisfied look on his face and the US Open still within his grasp.
Simple thing
He might not have been thinking this, but others were.
Could something as simple as a wrist brace be the thing that finally helps Mickelson win the tournament he so desperately covets?
Stranger things have happened, as all of those who remember the 18th hole last year at Winged Foot know so well.
"I just have to keep making pars," Mickelson said. "I believe I'll get better as the days go on."
Mickelson believes that, and there's no reason he shouldn't.
This, after all, was a day where he got better as the round went on and the rust came off.
"I've got in my mind a way to shoot around par, but I didn't execute today and the next three days I've got to execute better," he said. "Hopefully as the tournament goes on, I'll strike it better and better."
For once, Mickelson isn't burdened by expectations. He really has only one worry, and that's to remember not to leave the brace at home.
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
RSS