PINEHURST, NC — He is going to try the claw. That’s Phil Mickelson’s game plan for putting the difficult Donald Ross greens at Pinehurst No. 2, where the 114th US Open begins Thursday.
The unconventional grip, in which his left-hand is low and the right hand is along for the ride, was settled on after a teaching lesson Tuesday morning from putting guru Dave Stockton. It is intended to generate a long smooth stroke.
“It helps the short putts,” Mickelson said. “Three to six, seven feet, I’m much more solid with taking the bottom hand off and just kind of lightly pushing the putter through.”
No one should be surprised Mickelson is making a drastic move two days before the start of a major championship. He is a player who isn’t afraid to take a chance — whether it’s attempting high-risk shots, playing with two drivers or no drivers in his bag, or even changing his putting stroke.
“I’ve done some crazy stuff,” he admitted, mentioning when he changed irons after the first round of the 2002 US Open at Bethpage. Now you can add going to the claw grip at the 2014 US Open to the list.
Mickelson, who turns 44 Monday, is in the midst of a difficult season in which he hasn’t posted a top-10 finish and ranks 153rd in total putting. Going to the claw could generate confidence or calamity.
“This is giving me a chance to put the best roll on the golf ball,” Mickelson insisted. “If that’s what it takes, I’m willing to take any risk and be accountable either way. If it comes out great, perfect. And if it doesn’t, it was my own decision.”
Mickelson has won five majors — three Masters, the 2005 PGA Championship at Baltusrol and the British Open last year in Muirfield. The US Open has been nothing but heartbreak. He has finished second a record six times, including last year at Merion outside Philadelphia where he took the 54-hole lead into the final round and shot 74 on Sunday to finish two strokes behind eventual champion Justin Rose.
He would be a favorite to win this weekend if he hadn’t played so poorly this year, missing the cut at the Masters. But Pinehurst conjures fond memories for Mickelson, even though it is the site where he was beaten on the final hole in the 1999 US Open by Payne Stewart for the first of his many second-place finishes.
“I do feel heading into this year’s US Open that this golf course, this setup, and everything about Pinehurst provides me the best opportunity,” he said. “But I haven’t had the form this year to get too excited.”
He still is searching for that form, which is why he is planning to use the claw this week. Heck it’s worth a try, though Mickelson said he used the claw in the final round at Memphis on Sunday, when he shot 72 after playing the first three rounds in the 60s.
“I would have won by eight shots if I putted decent,” Mickelson said. “Ultimately I’ll go back to a regular grip, but for now, probably the coming weeks, that helps me get the feel and flow back.”
Putting the crowned greens isn’t the only challenge at Pinehurst. Keeping the ball in the fairway and out of the waste areas will be critical though Mickelson says he intends to “play aggressively.” Despite his struggles on the golf course this year and being linked to an FBI investigation into insider trading, Mickelson likes his chances. He will feed off the setting, the crowd and the claw. But we’ve learned everything with Mickelson is subject to change.
“If something changes this week and I feel better with the regular grip, I may [use] it,” he said. “It may be a spur-of-the-moment thing. I don’t know. But right now the game plan is X, but it can certainly become Y in a matter of minutes.”
That’s why all eyes will be on Mickelson.