MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Jack Dotson is 14 years old. Thursday, he stood outside the ropes and watched Phil Mickelson hit a tee shot in the drink on No. 14.
He was thrilled. Not in the shot’s destination, necessarily, but by the man hitting it.
“I like Phil,” he said.
How much does he like Phil?
Well, the Dotson family is from Omaha, Neb. They were on their way to Disney World. But they stopped in Memphis on the way to Orlando specifically to take in the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic.
And of the two experiences, which was 14-year-old Jack looking forward to more?
“This one,” said Dotson.
Yes, you read that right. He picked Mickelson over Mickey. He picked the Swashbuckling Lefty over the Pirates of the Caribbean.
Who needs Splash Mountain when you’ve got Splashed Tee Shot on 14?
And so we begin yet another year in one of the great eras of his tournament. It’s Mickelson in Memphis 6.0.
Mickelson, 45, has played Memphis more than Arnold Palmer or Tom Watson, who each played the tournament five times. Of the 19 players who have won five majors or more, Mickelson has played Memphis more than all but Lee Trevino (16), Gary Player (15) and Jack Nicklaus (seven).
“There was a little more suspense this year, because the last few years, we’ve heard in the fall,” said Darrell Smith, the tournament director. “When we got the news, there was some fist pumping, for sure. We have worked hard to make the tournament more than just Phil, but it obviously makes an impact when he is here.”
Take Tammy Cleaver. She drove from Illinois with her husband, Jason, specifically to see Mickelson.
“She about peed her pants when she saw him for the first time,” said Jason. “There’s no way we would be here if it weren’t for Phil.”
Michael Fancher set his alarm for 4:25 a.m. so he could drive up from West, Miss., in time to watch Mickelson tee off.
“As long as he comes, I’ll keep doing it,” said Fancher. “Phil is my guy.”
And, no, that my-guy status didn’t seem to be threatened by the news that Mickelson was recently named a “relief defendant” in an insider trading case and would be required to return $1.03 million in ill-gotten gains.
Not a single fan I spoke with gave a flip about the charges.
“I don’t think he really knew anything about it,” said Judy Nixon.
“Nobody cares,” said Jimmy Thomas.
“The good outweighs the bad,” said Ruth Henager.
“It’s none of my business; they should leave him alone,” said Georgia Touliatos.
It may seem strange, at some level, to see such universal shrugging over misbehavior. Especially given the societal outrage over all the ways in which life is a rigged deal.
But these are people who have followed Mickelson forever. They feel like they know him, and they like what they know.
Mickelson is the guy who looks them in the eye as he walks on to his next golf shot. He’s the guy who takes the time to actually speak with them as he signs autographs.
“He’s polite,” said Nixon.
“He’s classy,” said Thomas.
“He’s a Hall-of-Famer,” said Touliatos. “He’s Phil.”
Being Phil, Mickelson’s opening round at Southwind included some thrills and spills. Indeed, it was almost Disneyesque.
He started the day on the back nine and birdied No. 11 and No. 12.
Whee!
He then pitched into a bunker on No. 13, hit his tee shot in the water on No. 14 and boinked his tee shot off a tree on No. 16.
Whoa!
He then birdied No. 3 and No. 5 to get right back to 1 under for the morning.
Whee!
He then wasted a gorgeous chip at No. 6 by missing the par putt.
Whoa!
All that ended up to an even-par 70 for Mickelson, which put him five strokes back of the leaders, but in fine position to hang around for the weekend at least.
And that’s good news, for Mickelson and Memphis and for kids of all ages. The tournament is more magical when he is around.
Calkins writes for The Commerical Appeal, which is part of the USA TODAY NETWORK.
