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Mickelson gets support in major hunt

By BOB HARIG

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 19, 2001

DULUTH, Ga. -- Paul Azinger knows about chasing that elusive first major championship. He endured plenty of questions before winning the 1993 PGA Championship.

But Azinger said it's nothing compared with what Phil Mickelson is going through. And he believes some of the commentary is unfair.

"I didn't have to deal with it that long. Fortunately for me, there was no such thing as the Golf Channel with all these experts who don't know jack. There are plenty of them," Azinger said Saturday at Atlanta Athletic Club, where he finished the third round tied for seventh, eight behind David Toms.

"It's amazing they are questioning Phil Mickelson's heart and whether he can do it. Here you've got a guy who's won 19 tournaments in 10 years and they're questioning his heart. Either they've never played in a golf tournament in their lives or they're in the (TV) booth because they can't play. I find it remarkable that they can question Phil Mickelson's ability. The guy's a remarkable player."

Mickelson has three consecutive 66s and was two shots behind Toms heading into today's final round. Mickelson has two top 10s in majors this year but has failed to win one of the four most important titles in 33 attempts as a professional.

"I know he believes in his own mind he's very capable," Azinger said. "He's beaten everybody who's here this week many, many times. You just have to do it at the right time. It takes a lot of luck. You have to peak the right week. And hope that nobody's hotter than you."

CROUCHING TIGER: Despite holing a wedge shot for eagle 2 at the ninth hole, Tiger Woods did not make a charge into contention. Woods bogeyed the final two holes to shoot 69, moving under par for the tournament, but he was 13 shots back.

"I figured that if I could shoot 3, 4 or 5 under on the back nine, I'd be right back in this game," said Woods, who was at 209, 1 under. "But unfortunately I wasn't able to do it."

At least Woods felt better about an inconsistent swing that caused problems in several recent tournaments. "Starting out, I felt like I was actually swinging better," he said. "Even though I pulled a couple of drives, it was nice to actually hit that kind of drive instead of losing it way right. I was actually able to release the club properly. I just need to trust that. I wasn't trusting it and consequently, I was hitting a lot of left rough."

EASTERN BALANCE: Japan's Shingo Katayama, the second-round co-leader, has an interesting practice regimen. He warms up by hitting several balls left-handed.

"I was playing golf since I was small, and my coach taught me to keep up my body balance equivalent, right hand and left hand," said Katayama, who shot 69 and was four behind Toms. "People watch me, the gallery watch me, and although I don't hit it that far, (they ask) "Why did he suddenly play good in this tournament?' Then I switch (to right-handed) and hit a great shot and all of a sudden they say, "Wow, he can play.' "

IT'S IN THE HOLE: Toms was not the only player to make an ace. Nick Faldo made the 10th hole-in-one of his career, acing the 206-yard fourth hole with a 4-iron. "At least I had one enjoyable hole," said Faldo, a six-time major-championship winner who shot 71. "It was a peach. I hit a really perfect shot. It's funny how you get that little feeling it's just going to go. It stayed on the edge of the hole and then just fell in. That was really nice, the first time I've had one of those at a major."

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