He Has a New Bag of Tricks

By Thomas Bonk

May 18, 2006 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

Phil Mickelson won the Masters using two drivers, but it’s possible he’s going to tackle the U.S. Open one driver short. Mickelson said again this week that he was considering sticking to the Callaway FT-3 Fusion driver with a 45-inch shaft, an inch shorter than the one he uses to hit a long draw, and the option he uses to hit a controlled fade.

But Mickelson also said Tuesday that he had two new Callaway clubs in his bag -- and chances are they’re different drivers, dialed in to take advantage of the setup at Winged Foot for the U.S. Open. He has been experimenting with Alan Hocknell, Callaway’s vice president for innovation and advanced design.

What they’re working on has been top-secret, but Mickelson is keeping his options open on the two-driver concept or maybe even trying out some special wedges.

“I think it’s going to be much more imperative to keep the ball between the thick grass and be able to attack pins from the fairway,” he said.

Since Mickelson also won the 2005 PGA Championship, the U.S. Open is his chance to win three consecutive majors and get closer to the MickelSlam.

He has practiced at Winged Foot once and plans on two more trips to the course before the Open begins, the week of June 12.

Colin Montgomerie said he also was thinking about packing two drivers, but not because he has been successful. Montgomerie will play the Irish Open this week and attempt to avoid missing the cut for the seventh time this year. He should have an advantage. He designed the Carton House Golf Club course.

He doesn’t have to officially commit to the Memorial until Friday, but it seems apparent that Tiger Woods, whose father, Earl, died two weeks ago, will not play.

Woods hasn’t played since the Masters, which ended April 9. If he skips the Memorial and the Barclays Classic, Woods will not have played a tournament before the U.S. Open, which begins June 15.

Woods seems to be making plans for the British Open in July at Royal Liverpool. According to English newspaper the Mirror, Woods has booked all 19 rooms of the exclusive Hillbark Hotel for a reported $250,000.

The quote of the week is from Lee Trevino, 66, who is playing after having back surgery last year: “Death comes after retirement, so I’m not retired.”

It already has been a big week for Michelle Wie. She made it through local U.S. Open qualifying in Hawaii and moves on to sectional qualifying June 5 at Summit, N.J. She also accepted a special exemption into the women’s U.S. Open and agreed to play a men’s European Tour event in September.

She’s taking on the Omega European Masters, Sept. 7-10, in Switzerland. Her choice of tournaments isn’t tough to figure out: Omega is not only a European Tour sponsor but also one of her sponsors -- Wie is featured in a full-page ad in the latest issue of Golf Digest.

Omega just extended its sponsorship as the official timekeeper of the Olympics through the 2012 London Games, a $47.1-million deal, according to the BBC.

Wie, 16, last week became the first woman since 1945 to make the cut in a top-tier men’s international tour event, the Asian Tour’s SK Telekom Open in South Korea.

Wie’s first foray into the men’s European Tour will have its critics. Jean Van de Velde said he had no objection to Wie or any other women playing in European Tour events, with one provision: “So long as we are now allowed to play in theirs. Yes, I am ready to play in a skirt.”

Wie is going against heavy odds at the U.S. Open sectional qualifying. Some 200 players are expected to compete for probably about 20 spots, and the list of those who join Wie in the field includes Billy Andrade, Jonathan Byrd, Alex Cejka, Harrison Frazar, Brent Geiberger, Paul Goydos, J.J. Henry, Bernhard Langer, Len Mattiace, Mark O’Meara, Tom Pernice Jr., Paul Stankowski and Vaughn Taylor.

Ernie Els this season has three top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour -- at Doral, the Verizon and the Players Championship -- but was not a factor at the Masters, where he tied for 27th.

But Els may be on the rebound. He tied for 13th at the Byron Nelson and was among only five players who had four rounds in the 60s.

Then there is Vijay Singh. He has tied for 36th, 38th and 48th in his last three tournaments, including the Nelson, where he closed with a round of 73 that included an eagle, three straight birdies, a triple bogey, a double bogey and three other bogeys.

Last week at Kingsmill, Annika Sorenstam, who turns 36 in October, missed her first cut in nearly four years -- her first in a non-major tournament in 12 years -- and it happened at a place that can’t be her favorite spot. A year ago, she came to Kingsmill looking for her sixth consecutive tournament victory and instead tied for 12th, 10 shots behind winner Cristie Kerr.

Sorenstam, whose streak of five tournaments without a victory is her longest in five years, is tied for 74th in putting.

For all the attention they’ve drawn because of their power off the tee, rookies J.B. Holmes, Camilo Villegas and Bubba Watson have missed 15 cuts among them, five by each, and only Holmes has won.

This week

*--* PGA TOUR: Colonial

*--*

* When: Today-Sunday.

* Where: Colonial Country Club (7,054 yards, par 70), Fort Worth.

* Purse: $6 million. Winner’s share: $1,008,000.

* TV: USA (Today-Friday, 4 p.m., delayed) and CBS (Saturday-Sunday, noon-3 p.m.).

* Last year’s winner: Kenny Perry.

*--* LPGA TOUR: Sybase Classic

*--*

* When: Today-Sunday.

* Where: Wykagyl Country Club (6,227 yards, par 71), New Rochelle, N.Y.