DETROIT — Please come back, Phil.
Yes, I’m asking. And I know I’m asking a lot. But I hope Phil Mickelson decides to be the bigger man, changes his mind and decides to return to the Rocket Mortgage Classic next year.
Mickelson was the story of the tournament during Thursday’s first round at Detroit Golf Club. And not because of his strong round of 3-under-par 69.
He was the story because he tweeted during a long rain delay that he won’t come back after a Detroit News article was published Tuesday about a $500,000 wager that a Grosse Pointe bookie cheated him out of more than 20 years ago.
After Mickelson’s round, I asked him if indeed his mind was made up and he wasn’t coming back.
Give Mickelson credit. He didn’t back down: “Yeah, I don’t see that happening. I don’t see me coming back. Not that I don’t love the people here. They have been great. But not with that type of thing happening.”
And that’s a damn shame. No matter what side you come down on — what you thought of the Detroit News article, whether Mickelson was being too sensitive — the tournament needs the kind of rare star power that Mickelson provides. That’s exactly what I wrote in May.
The whole episode was debated endlessly in the media room, mostly because we had way too much time on our hands during the 3 hour, 15 minute rain delay.
I can understand how Mickelson might have felt ambushed in some way. He’s very protective of his public image. But I think this tournament and what Mickelson means to it is bigger than image and hurt feelings.
Mickelson mentioned his good intentions behind attending the tournament and helping the Detroit community. If he’s sincere about that, I hope he rethinks his decision once he has time to cool off in the coming weeks. I hope he remembers the cheers I heard for him on the ninth hole and all around the course, where he was greeted by fans yelling, “Let’s go, Phil!”
Indeed. Let’s go, Phil. Let’s go think about it some more. And then please come back.
Is Bryson a jerk?
What’s the deal with Bryson DeChambeau?
Last year at the Rocket he went off on a Golf Channel cameraman. This year, his caddie, Tim Tucker, quit just before the first round. And he’s involved in some of kind of Hatfield-and-McCoy level beef with Brooks Koepka.
Maybe you love him, maybe you hate him. But you can’t deny DeChambeau makes things interesting every week he plays, whether he’s experimenting with the out limits of science-fueled monster drives or imploding on the final holes of the U.S. Open.
DeChambeau’s camp and Tucker did as much damage control as they could when the story broke before DeChambeau’s late tee time Thursday.
“I love the kid,” Tucker, DeChambeau’s caddie for all eight of his PGA Tour wins, texted Golfweek. “Hardest worker I have ever seen. Proud to have been his caddie. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him win Rocket Mortgage. He is hitting it great.”
DeChambeau’s agent told Golfweek in a statement: “Bryson and Tim have always been close friends and will remain close friends. They have mutually agreed to go their separate ways at this time. Both Bryson and Tim wish each other well in their next endeavor.”
Not sure we’ll ever get to the bottom of what exactly led to the breakup — actually the second between the two — but it’s a fascinating development that’s part of a fascinating career.
Troll of the Week Award
Koepka earns this honor with flying colors for poking his arch nemesis. After news broke that Tucker had quit, Koepka plotted a firing solution in his Twitter and torpedoed the U.S.S. DeChambeau with this tweet, ostensibly celebrating his own caddie, Ricky Elliott: “Couldn’t do it without my guy Rick! Best friend and greatest caddie to do it @RickyElliott appreciation day!”
The cherry on top was the picture Koepka chose of Elliott throwing an arm around Koepka as the pair clutched hands in a scene reminiscent of your favorite bromance movie.
Cinderella story
This year’s frontrunner for the Nate Lashley Award is Davis Thompson, a 22-year-old sponsor’s exemption who shot a bogey-free 9-under-par 63 for a two-shot lead over Brandon Hagy and Tom Lewis.
Lashley was an unknown who went wire-to-wire to win the inaugural event in 2019. Thompson is making only this third Tour start. But if he keeps up his torrid pace — 17 greens and 11 fairways — he would be the first sponsor’s exemption to win a Tour event since Martin Laird claimed the 2020 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
Bowling Brehm
Great line from former Michigan State golfer Ryan Brehm, who shot 71 with three birdies and two bogeys but hit only eight fairways and 12 greens: “Yeah, I'll use my favorite line. I mean, it was a bunch of strikes and gutters out there today.”
Brehm earned his PGA Tour card for 2020 and has exempt status in 2020-21. He has missed six straight cuts but tied for 11th at the Puerto Rico Open in February.
Weather weary
The first round was suspended because of on-and-off rain and poor weather for 3:15 as players were told to prepare for a restart and then pulled off the course as conditions changed quickly. Play resumed at 3:30 p.m. as Detroit continued to deal with soggy conditions and flooding in the area.
The good news is that the wet stuff looks like it’s gone. The official tournament forecast calls for only a 10% chance of rain Friday and Sunday and a 0% chance Saturday.
The tournament allowed lift, clean and place rules in the fairway because of the soggy conditions. But it was still an odd challenge and didn’t give players much roll on their drives. Stuard averages 279.7 yards this season but managed just a 255.6 yards Thursday.
The conditions, the weather and the delay added up to an extremely challenging day.
“Being from Michigan, I know how bizarre this is to have this much rain like this time of year,” Brehm said. “I know we needed the rain, but maybe not quite this much this quickly. You just have to deal with it, I don't know how else to say it. I mean, they did send us out and then brought us back in, sent us out and back in again. You just have to do your best to just stay focused and ready to go.”
