Come on Phil, you're better than this

The fallout from the Ryder Cup has already shown the cracks within the US team that existed, and Phil Mickelson has managed to take it even further in the past two days, branding Le Golf National ‘’almost unplayable’’ and ‘’a waste of my time.’’ Such comments come across as simply pathetic, considering a majority of players on show had no complaints about the course and posted reasonable scores. If courses with thick rough and narrow fairways are a waste of his time, why does he bother turning up to the US Open or The Open? His comments are simply the parting shot of a sore loser.

This is not Phil’s first instance of brat like behaviour this year, following the incident at the US Open where he hit a moving ball while struggling to make it round Shinnecock Hills, which was a blatant attempt to cheat and should’ve seen him disqualified. For a man with such a great reputation amongst golf fans worldwide, incidents such as at the US Open and these comments about Le Golf National threaten to tarnish the legacy of one of golf’s great players.

Simply branding Le Golf National and the Ryder Cup as a waste of his time comes across as disrespectful in several ways. Players who came close to selection such as Xander Schauffele and Kevin Kisner would have been desperate to play in golf’s biggest event, and Mickelson’s comments illustrate why he didn’t deserve to be part of the team. He clearly fails to realise how lucky he is to have been picked for a 12thRyder Cup appearance, and his comments illustrate his lack of class when on the wrong side of results. There is no doubt the course was not suited to his game, with narrow fairways and thick rough, but Mickelson has clearly gone about it the wrong way with these latest comments.

At every golf tournament, players play the same course and face the same challenges, and the Ryder Cup was no different. Europe handled the conditions far better and labelling Le Golf National as ‘unplayable’ represents nothing more than a pathetic response to a dire performance from Mickelson himself. As a professional golfer who has achieved so much over his career, one would expect him to adapt to a course that provided a fantastic Ryder Cup venue, rather than throw his toys out the pram when it doesn’t suit his style.

Whilst I have always been a fan of Mickelson and the way he plays, his actions this year at both the US Open and Ryder Cup have seen him come across as a sore loser who is well past his best. It is likely he won’t be part of the US Ryder Cup team for Whistling Straits in 2020, and hopefully his place can go to a player who will give their all for the US team regardless of conditions. He’s a better man than he’s shown in the past year, and I hope his distinguished career doesn’t whittle away amongst a flurry of excuses and poor performances that have begun to characterise his later career.