Rain Delays Phil's Quest: Win for Amy

Editor's Note: This column has been updated from Wednesday's original version.

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- His wife and kids won't be coming this time, the first sign that this will be a different U.S. Open for Phil Mickelson. Before he left his San Diego home on Tuesday, he and his family celebrated his 39th birthday with particular flair. His three children brought him breakfast in bed, and then, a little later, his wife asked him to open his presents.

Suddenly, while recalling this special day in the interview room at Bethpage Black, a scared husband and father became quite talkative about what his wife gave him. Breast cancer has a powerful, haunting way of tapping a man's deepest and most private emotions about the simplest matters, even as millions watch and listen and follow Amy's ordeal with considerable concern.

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"She got me a couple of cool things, and I just love it when she picks me out fashion stuff like sunglasses or such because my fashion sense isn't the best," Mickelson said Wednesday. "So I have to rely on her. And she got me a very cool little mini-camera that has 30 frames-a-second capability, so I can have Bones film my swing or have Butch film it and show me what he's talking about without having to bring out the big video cameras and such."

So the caddy, Bones Mackay, and the swing coach, Butch Harmon, got what they wanted, too. Unlike past birthdays, though, Amy also is asking Phil for an enormous favor in return. She has left the request via text messages, post-it notes, cards and frequent dropped hints.

"She would like to have a silver trophy in her hospital room," he said. "So I'm going to try to accommodate that."

Already America's most popular golfer -- a distinction that always has eluded the dominant automaton that is Tiger Woods -- Mickelson tees off as a nation's sentimental cause. Golf enthusiasts always have shared a certain fondness for Amy, who was there all those years when it appeared her husband never would win a major championship and, of course, was the first to leap into his arms when he finally broke through at Augusta National. Now, as she prepares for a year of cancer treatments that begin July 1, who isn't rooting for Mickelson to pull off what would be a magnificent triumph of the heart and mind? On Father's Day, with the family watching on the hi-def big screen at home, we'd love to see him outduel Woods and win one for Amy.

That is assuming the tournament is completed Sunday. There are automatic car washes that would provide more workable playing conditions than what we experienced Thursday on Long Island, where the vast majority of the first round was postponed until Friday. When I arrived at Bethpage Splash, drenched to my skivvies, I noticed that the No. 2 green was thoroughly immersed in water. Who knew that entire fairways would look like lakes, greens were being squeegeed beyond recognition and the notoriously loud New York galleries would be too waterlogged to yell? If you're too young to remember Woodstock, you should have checked out the scene at No. 15, where several fans had fallen in the mud. Oh, if only John Daly were here. He could have run out of the clubhouse, stripped down and belly-flopped on the practice green.

"Where's my canoe?" the colorful Ian Poulter wrote on Twitter.

Two inches of rain on Day One would require course-pumping through the night -- and the possibility of logistical chaos into the early part of next week. With more heavy rains expected Saturday, what are the odds of squeezing in 72 holes by Sunday evening? Isn't it an inevitability that the Open will spill into Monday?

"No. 1 and 18, that's going to be the issue," said Jim Hyler, chairman of the USGA's championship committee. "Eighteen is the real issue."

The good news is that Mickelson didn't have to tee off and, thus, didn't get wet or catch the flu. Is it realistic to think he can win? Maybe not. Best known as an impulsive back-nine gambler who borders on recklessness in big moments, how will his equilibrium hold up while playing with such a heavy heart? You'd like to think he would use the Open as an escape from the pain and fear, but then, he never has won this tournament despite several close calls. The last time he played an Open in the New York metro area, three years ago at Winged Foot, he turned a lead on the 72nd tee into an all-time tactical error that bounced off the hospitality tent and disappeared into dark infamy.

He hasn't won a major since, and, as he nears 40, there are those who think his days of glory are long gone. But all of that can be dismissed as so much psychological gobbledygook when a man is playing for the honor of his sick wife.

Maybe Mickelson focuses on the mission with such resolve that he wins for Amy. Maybe his legendary skill finally won't be intercepted by his risks. This will be his last tournament for a while, with the British Open all but erased as his wife will be in her third week of chemotherapy. And he knows the rowdy New York crowds, who always have loved him, will provide an army of adoring support. if the gallery at Colonial staged a wardrobe "Pink Out" for Amy and the gallery in Memphis followed him with similar strength, imagine what they'll produce on Long Island. "I'm putting everything I have into this week, because I don't anticipate being able to play for a while," said Mickelson, who hasn't missed a major championship since the 1994 Masters and is riding a streak of 61 straight majors. "And the fact that my normal support system, Amy and the kids, aren't going to make the trip this week, I'm kind of hoping to feel the support to kind of help me through the week. That support can carry me emotionally through the golf tournament.

"I love playing in the New York area. The people here have treated me and my family incredibly, and I love coming back here and playing here. Bethpage is one of my favorite golf courses. To be able to play this Open, I'm excited that things worked out. But I'm more excited that the reason I'm able to play is we've had some good news that has not rushed her treatment, has given us the time, an opportunity to see some test results and give us better direction on what we should do to not just cure her but prevent it from coming back in the future."

The early word from doctors is that they caught the breast cancer early, before it progressed to an incurable stage. That isn't to say the family isn't petrified. If you've ever sat in a hospital room of chemotherapy patients, some doing better than others as the medicine shoots through the IVs, you know it's a frightening experience. "I've never been this emotional, where if I'm driving alone or what have you, I'll just start crying," Mickelson admitted last week. "We're scared, yeah. I think a lot of it is the unknown."

But if there can be a rewarding side to this, it's a chance for the Mickelsons to feel a nation's warmth. Phil hasn't always been treated well by the national sports media -- myself included -- as he stumbles and bumbles at times through a career buried in Woods' enormous shadow. Yet we're watching him struggle through a crisis like any other person, which humanizes him like never before and reduces any career inconsistencies to big-picture irrelevance. He easily could have bowed out of the Open, and we would have understood. He decided to play for his wife.



"She's doing very well. And you'd never know that she was going through this right now," he said. "When we get started [with treatment], it will be different. But she's an amazing person. I don't know how to express how lucky I am, because everybody sees her when she comes out, how she treats people, interacts with people, connects with people, looks people in the eye and genuinely cares about what's going on in their life. And she's like that every day. I get to experience that every day with her. She's just an amazing individual. And I think it's hard for me to see somebody that is such a good person go through something so difficult.

"A couple of weeks ago, when we were diagnosed, there were a number of articles written that were so nice. And we were so appreciative. But in all those articles, there was always a little personal experience that each one of you have had with her. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body. And she loves being a mother, and she's an incredible mother; the time she puts in with the kids to uplift them and encourage them in the areas that they enjoy. For me, she's just been the most amazing spouse you can imagine. Supportive and loving, but also an incredible mother, and yet she keeps things interesting.

"She's not afraid to give me a little ribbing. She's just made my life so enjoyable to live. It's just hard for me to see her go through this, but we're going to get through this together. And it's a great opportunity for me to be there for her, and it's brought us closer."

He did finish second here in 2002, when Woods went wire-to-wire to win the Open. Phil was brilliant, you'll recall, on the front nine of this year's Masters, shooting 30 in what was projecting as a Sunday duel with Woods for the green jacket. Both faded late, but it was a reminder that Mickelson still can catch fire and inspire awe. An Open at Bethpage Black requires precise power ball-striking. Though he tied for 59th in Memphis at the St. Jude Classic, he likes how he's playing.

"I've actually been hitting the ball better than I have in a long time. And possibly ever," Mickelson said. "I know it doesn't seem like it after my score at Memphis. Didn't score very well. But I'm really excited about how things have come along ball-striking wise.

"When Amy was going through tests and I'm sitting in a hospital for 10 hours, I was thinking about a lot of things. But I would take a break and think about my golf swing. I would talk to Butch. Even though we didn't hit any balls, I actually got my swing to where we wanted it to be able to hit little cut shots, control my misses, and I'm very optimistic about my ball-striking this week. I think the key for me will be on the greens. I putted these greens very well in '02, and if I have a good putting week, I expect to be in contention on Sunday."

If he is, brace yourself for high drama and huge TV ratings, especially if Woods is involved. Tiger is bidding for his 15th major championship, which would leave him three behind Jack Nicklaus, but he certainly wouldn't be the fan favorite in a Woods vs. Mickelson scenario. I think Tiger will understand, having dealt with the tragedy of losing his father before the 2006 Open and missing the cut.

"Certainly, it's very difficult," Woods said. "When my dad was sick, that's kind of the natural progression anyway. Your parents are supposed to pass away before you. And God forbid how they get sick or how it ends. But to have a spouse, you're supposed to go together.

"And I couldn't imagine dealing with what he has to deal with on a daily basis. And hats off to how he has handled it, because certainly, it's so hard to do. Everywhere you go, people are reminding you of it, and you can't get away from it. And you think that the golf course would be your escape, but it's not. You're surrounded by people wishing you well the entire time and hope everything works out. But then again, they keep reminding you of the same circumstance you're dealing with on a daily basis, and you can't get away from it. I can only speak from my experience with my dad and losing someone close to me. You don't sleep much. It's hard.

"Amy as a person, she's a sweetheart. She's been so nice and so generous to everyone she meets. And all the years that we've played doubles and table tennis, Elin and myself and Phil and Amy, those are priceless times. Myself and everyone out here hopes that she gets well and she's back out here as soon as she can."

A special fan of the Mickelsons is Darren Clarke, whose wife, Heather, died of breast cancer three years ago before the Ryder Cup.

"We had a good conversation about various things," Clarke said. "I understand probably more than most, but he is a good friend. It's very sad news, but it is the early stages, so we hope that everything goes as well as we all wish for. Phil and Amy helped me through that Ryder Cup, walking on and off with me at he opening and closing ceremonies.

"They have been very kind to me."

Tour veteran Stephen Ames didn't play well in 2005 when his wife, Jodi, was undergoing chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer. "But he's a different fish," Ames said of Mickelson. "To be that good, to be where he is in the world (ranked No. 2), you've got to be mentally tough. I feel badly for him. This is not something nice to go through."

Which is why Mickelson is going for broke. Why not declare that he intends to win one for Amy? What the hell does he have to lose when his wife is fighting for her life? "I anticipate it being an emotional experience. My quest is to win my first U.S. Open after four seconds, numerous close calls, me caring about this tournament so much," he said. "Right now, I'm just fortunate that I'm going to be able to play and I hope to play well. I know that after this, I've got something going on that's more important.

"I'm not playing just to play. I think Bethpage is a golf course that suits my game, I love playing in the New York area. Sure, there's a lot of question marks that I'll have. But that's the goal, to win."

You about to doubt him? Me, neither.