Now He’s in Grand Scheme

In the warm, post-Masters glow of a victory at Augusta National, it seems that no one can get his fill of Phil. Readers who opened the front section of the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday were greeted by a full-page congratulatory advertisement from Bearing Point, one of his sponsors, dominated by a photograph of a beaming Phil Mickelson.

The night before on “The Late Show” on CBS, David Letterman introduced Masters champion “Phil Mickelson” and out came some heavyset dude in a green jacket riding a bicycle through the Ed Sullivan Theater.

Another of Mickelson’s sponsors, Callaway Golf, is planning a new series of ads to take advantage of his victory and maybe peddle some more drivers.

Overnight ratings for CBS’ Masters coverage were down from last year, when Tiger Woods won, but up over the year before, which was the first time Mickelson won. We’ll leave it to the experts to figure that out, but one logical conclusion is that New Phil is regarded as an improvement over Old Phil.

Next on the appointment schedule for Mickelson is a more serious professional matter. It’s called the U.S. Open and Mickelson needs to win it if he’s going to have a chance at the Grand Slam. Usually, the only grand slam Mickelson concerns himself with is the one at Denny’s, but chances are things are going to be different this year.

To the surprise of many, Mickelson is already different this year. He’s dialed in his game, figured out the right way to get ready for the majors, worked hard on his short game and learned how to manage the course instead of trying to pound it into submission.

But those aren’t the only differences. He seems a great deal more at ease with his surroundings and has even gone so far as to joke with reporters, many times offering himself as the object of the joke. If he was semi-detached before, he’s nearly fully engaged know, and that quality is likely to serve him well when the heat starts rising off the manicured fairways at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y. , in June at the U.S. Open.

When the subject of a possible Grand Slam was raised Sunday night after his two-shot victory at the Masters, Mickelson adjourned the conversation quickly. It’s a little early for such talk, he said.

Well, no it isn’t. It’s actually the perfect time. There’s only one player with a chance at winning all four majors this year, and it’s the guy with two drivers, a flop shot that is the role model of every failed souffle, the best scoring average on the PGA Tour and a taste for In-N-Out burgers.

Plus, he’s not exactly coming at us in a position of weakness. His victory at the Masters vaulted him past Retief Goosen and Vijay Singh into the No. 2 spot in the rankings, trailing only Woods. It’s the first time Mickelson has been ranked that high in more than three years.

And while Woods has held the top spot for 386 weeks, compared to zero for Mickelson, it’s also true that Mickelson is seen as a viable contender for Woods’ status and not merely his foil.

The U.S. Open setup, as usual, isn’t going to suit anyone who doesn’t hit the ball straight or can’t putt. Winged Foot will play to a par of 70, just as it did the last time it staged a major at the 1997 PGA Championship, but it’s going to be 297 yards longer at 7,266 yards.

If Mickelson wins that one, he goes on to Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England, for the British Open, a major that hasn’t been so kind to him. In 12 trips, his best result was third in 2004 at Royal Troon, which is the only time he has been in the top 10. Of course, that was the same year Mickelson won the Masters, was second to Goosen at the U.S. Open and tied for sixth at the PGA Championship.

After the British Open, the PGA Championship would be next for Mickelson, at the Rees Jones-redone Medinah Country Club, stretched to 7,561 yards to make it the longest course in major championship history.

That’s what is in store for Mickelson, if he wants to look ahead. According to Danny Sheridan, a noted oddsmaker for USA Today, the chances of Mickelson winning the Grand Slam are a mere 925 million to 1. Those are long odds indeed, but it’s possible that Mickelson has his own Grand Slam plan. Maybe he’ll pack three drivers.