, it was almost possible to squint and see the controversial new tour’s vision. “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC blared on the loudspeakers, a small but fiesty gallery circled the 16th tee box, and three paratroopers landed on a fairway nearby carrying a giant American flag.
Mickelson knocked his tee shot into the greenside bunker, then nearly sent his sand shot into the water on the opposite side of the green. He made a bogey, the start of what had to been an awkward and at times surreal day for the five-time major winner. No, it was the size of the galleries that was most jarring. At a typical major, the throngs would be 10 or 15 people deep around a green where Mickelson was putting, a gallery size that only 15-time major winner Tiger Woods could match. Even at a routine PGA Tour event, the savvy fans know to skip a hole ahead to watch Mickelson — or else get stuck without a view.
It is just one more example of how far he has fallen. Mickelson arrived as a punching bag, both for sportswriters and the general public. The family of 9/11 victims, furious at the golfers who signed onto a tour sponsored by the Saudi government, targeted him specifically during a pair of protests held a few miles from the course. Even other golfers have teed him up.