GLENEAGLES, Scotland (AP) – The tee shots were in play, and Phil Mickelson strode down the first fairway in the Ryder Cup like he has done so many times before. He was in full uniform. He wore golf shoes. And he inserted earphones to listen to the radio coverage of the matches.
He wasn’t a player on Saturday. He was a cheerleader.
For the first time in 10 appearances at the Ryder Cup – the most of any American in history – Mickelson spent an entire day without hitting a single shot. U.S. captain Tom Watson sat him out in the morning, and then he chose not to play Mickelson and Keegan Bradley in the afternoon.
The last time Mickelson played only two matches going into the final round was in 1995 at Oak Hill when he was a Ryder Cup rookie. Asked to comment as he walked down the fairway to watch, Mickelson said, “Whatever it takes to win.”
“I want our team to win, and whatever we have to do is all I care about,” he said.