BRUDENELL, P.E.I. (CP) _ They were probably the only two people
in the room who didn't see Mickelson's Meltdown _ and the last two
you'd expect to miss it.
Golf legends Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson quizzed a roomful of
reporters Monday about the details of Phil Mickelson's gut-wrenching
collapse Sunday in the final round of the U.S. Open.
``Mickelson was two up with two holes to go?'' asked an
incredulous Watson about the dramatic closing moments of the PGA
major won by Australian Geoff Ogilvy.
``He bogeyed No. 17 and double-bogeyed No. 18?''
Nicklaus and Watson were largely in the dark about the goings-on
at Winged Foot after arriving in Prince Edward Island from the media
vacuum of a remote salmon fishing camp on New Brunswick's
Restigouche River.
So they asked probably as many questions as they answered during
a lengthy and wide-ranging news conference prior to a charity golf
event at Rodd Brudenell River Resort.
Nicklaus and Watson seemed reticent at first to criticize the
play of Mickelson and Colin Montgomerie, who also blew up on the
18th hole when faced with a chance to win.
But both were soon expressing surprise at the shot selections of
the two tour veterans after hearing the gory details of their
collapses. Particularly those of Mickelson, who hit only two
fairways all day but still pulled a driver from his bag on the 18th
tee. He promptly sliced his ball off the roof of a hospitality tent
and into the Open's notoriously tough rough.
The two were even more amazed that Mickelson made matters worse
by trying for the green on his second shot rather than simply
getting the ball back on the fairway.
Mickelson squibbed that shot about 25 yards and with it went his
chance at a third consecutive major.
``He had an easy option to get back into play? Really?'' asked a
dumbfounded Watson.
``Put the ball in play. Go play golf,'' added Nicklaus.
Nicklaus, who won a record 18 majors and 83 tour titles, said he
learned early in his career to not take undue risks when a
tournament is on the line.
``You don't ever give up the end of a golf tournament,'' he said,
adding he learned that lesson in 1963 when he picked the wrong club
on the last two holes of an event he was leading and finished
bogey-bogey and lost.
``I didn't like that feeling and said I'd never do that again,
and I never did. I made a mistake and it cost me the golf tournament
and I never did it again.''
Watson, who won eight majors, including five British Opens,
admitted it's easy to second guess but said: ``What are you playing
for? You're playing to win, not be a hero.
``The only person you have to beat is yourself _ and he beat
himself. It sounds like he beat himself because he didn't play the
percentage shot.''
Nicklaus and Watson are here to play in the Legends of Golf, an
event designed to raise money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of
Canada and promote golf in the province.
The two played in a pro-am Monday and will go head-to-head
Tuesday at Dundarave Golf Course, a sparkling 6,800-yard layout that
was named Canada's best new course by Golf Digest when it opened in
1999.
Bringing two of the game's all-time greats to the province is
part of a three-year-strategy by the P.E.I. government and IMG
Canada to make the Island a preferred destination for golfers.
Greg Norman and Nick Faldo are reportedly coming here next year.
Lorie Kane, a native of Charlottetown and LPGA Tour veteran, said
having Nicklaus and Watson in the province ``brings a lot of focus
to Prince Edward Island.''
``With you two being here, it really helps us,'' said Kane.
Nicklaus, 66, said Monday's round marked only the 11th time he
has swung a club since ending his pro career at last summer's
British Open.
When asked if he has any plans to play another tour event, he
shook his head and said, ``None.''
``Maybe if I get a new body,'' he added with a chuckle. ``I've
lost three inches of height. My vertebrae sit one on top of the
other, so I just can't move. I have no ability to turn or do
anything else.
``I've practised zero. I have no idea where the ball's going to
go. I may shoot 65. I may shoot 85. I don't know what I'm going to
shoot.''
Watson, 56, didn't buy any of it.
He recalled playing Nicklaus in a Skins Game two years ago and
watched as his old rival hacked his way to an 85 in a practice
round, complaining all the way about a bad back.
``I figured, `I got this guy,''' Watson said. ``The next day he
shoots lights out.
``He makes about seven or eight birdies and wins all the skins.
That's Nicklaus.''
``That was my last victory,'' Nicklaus replied.
