NORTON, Mass. — Adam Scott, who was the first of three PGA Tour golfers to notch consecutive victories in August using long putters was surprised to learn that short-game wizard Phil Mickelson had put a belly stick in his bag for this weekend’s Deutsche Bank Championship.
“I heard a rumor this morning that he had a long putter but I haven’t seen it,” Scott said after playing a Thursday practice round on the eve of Friday’s start at TPC Boston. “I might have to see it to believe it.”
Scott put his Scotty Cameron Studio Select Kombi sternum putter to good use when he won the Bridgestone Invitational by four strokes over Rickie Fowler and Luke Donald in early August. The following week, tour rookie Keegan Bradley used a belly stick to become the first golfer to win a major with a long putter when he captured the PGA Championship. Webb Simpson made it a trifecta when he and his Ping Craz-E belly hammer nailed down the Wyndham Championship on August 21.
Mickelson was the talk of the tourney after showing up on the putting green Thursday morning with a left-handed version of Bradley’s Odyssey White Hot XG Sabertooth model. Indeed, the 41-year-old veteran conceded he had learned a lot about his new club from 25-year-old Bradley, who, in turn, considers Mickelson a mentor.
Mickelson asked Bradley “a bunch of questions” and decided to cadge himself a belly putter.
“I just copied his [Bradley’s],” Mickelson told reporters following his Thursday practice round. “I went to Odyssey after the tournament [The Barclays] Saturday night and asked the guy to make an exact replica except the insert.”
Since toying with the putter, Mickelson has continued asking Bradley for advice.
“I got it on Monday and I’ve been talking to him on the phone a little bit, little tidbits on ball position, setup, and so forth,” Mickelson said. “It’s awkward to me, but so many guys have had success with it that I thought I’d give it a try.”
The only disparity between the two putters was the insert, Mickelson explained. “I like the White Hot XG insert, he has the regular White Hot. That’s the only difference”
Mickelson noted there was a good chance he would employ the long-handled blade during Friday’s opening round, adding that experimenting with golf clubs was hardly breaking news for the big lefty
“I don’t mind trying new things,” Mickelson said. “I’ve hit two drivers and no drivers in Opens, and I don’t mind trying something new.
“We’ll see,” said Mickelson.
With 2010 FedEx Cup winner Jim Furyk and several other pros swiping their way around tour courses with unconventional flat sticks, Mickelson was only the latest to jump on the long-putter bandwagon that naysayers believe will carry them straight to golfing hell.
Scott was matter-of-fact about Mickelson’s choice. “It’s the fad of the moment, so why not?” he said.
In other Scott-related news, the 2003 Deutsche Bank champ lit up when discussing reports that he had reunited with Serbian tennis star Ana Ivanovic.
“We spent some time together and I’m looking forward to spending some more time together,” a smiling Scott told us as he left Thursday’s presser.
Scott sat in Ivanovic’s player box at the U.S. Open in New York earlier this week while the 16th-seeded player won her first match. Ivanovic and Scott became an item in January 2009 but broke up last year, according to multiple news reports. Ivanovic advanced to the third round of the Open on Thursday.
Scott will tee it up with Charles Howell II and Hunter Mahan in the first two rounds of this weekend’s tourney. Mickelson will team up with Gary Woodland and Jonathan Byrd on Friday and Saturday of the only tour event with a scheduled Monday finish.
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