Rozner: Mickelson mishap casts pall over U.S. Open

Remember all those Phil Mickelson tributes from 2010?

He was the anti-Tiger Woods following Woods' scandal, and when he won the Masters, Mickelson was held aloft as the ideal human, pure as snow and capturing the moral high ground while collecting another green jacket.

All of that Mickelson praise - which he was not responsible for, by the way - looks a bit strange after his actions Saturday in the third round of the U.S. Open, when he somehow avoided disqualification.

Angry with the USGA's inability to manage green speeds and pin placements - which given the wind conditions turned Round 3 into a Shinnecock circus - Mickelson ran after his ball while it was rolling down a hill on the 13th green and whacked it again with his putter.

Once again, the USGA had a carnival on its hands, which is something of a U.S. Open tradition.

John Bodenhamer, the USGA director of Authentic Frontier Gibberish, said Mickelson was handed a 2-stroke penalty for hitting a moving ball, under Rule 14-5.

They did not, however, invoke Rule 1-2, which states a player can be disqualified for "the intent to influence the movement of a ball in play," when a player attempts to "gain a significant advantage."

In the case of a "serious breach," the "committee may impose a penalty of disqualification."

"He played a moving ball. He made a stroke at a ball. It's not necessary to go to (Rule) 1-2," Bodenhamer said. "Phil didn't purposely deflect or stop the ball."

He didn't? Mickelson said that's exactly what he did. He confessed after the round that he deflected it on purpose.

"I've thought about doing the same thing many times in my career," Mickelson said. "I just did it this time. It was something I did to take advantage of the rules as best I can."

There's a considerable difference between using the rules to your advantage, as in taking a drop from a cart path, and taking advantage of the rules, like avoiding having to hit a shot you don't want to hit, like an impossible chip from the bottom of a green that rolls like your kitchen floor.

"I didn't feel like continuing my display, and I gladly take the 2-shot penalty and move on," Mickelson said. "I don't mean it in a disrespectful way. Sometimes in these situations, it's just easier to take the 2 shots and move on."

And if you think this was dishonorable in a game defined by honor, Mickelson said, "If somebody's offended by that, I apologize to them, but toughen up, because this is not meant that way."

Toughen up, sports fans, if you don't like what he did.

As for Mickelson claiming he knew the rule and understood precisely what he was doing, his playing partner, Andrew "Beef" Johnston told a different story.

"(Mickelson) said, 'I don't know what that is. I don't know what score that is or what happens now,'" Johnston said. "And he started speaking to the rules official. It was one strange moment."

Mickelson spent 20 minutes in what serves as the scoring tent after his round, which is unusual for the media-friendly Hall of Famer. Perhaps he was trying to get his story straight.

And it was so disingenuous, when it seems more likely that he was mad about the USGA's farcical set up and frustrated that he couldn't make sense of that green complex.

If he had said that - admitted that he snapped - everyone would have understood a momentary lapse, however egregious it may have been.

Instead, Mickelson said he intentionally broke the rules to gain a competitive advantage.

It's a bad look for the USGA, for the national championship and especially bad for Mickelson.

And it's something for which he will be remembered.

brozner@dailyherald.com

• Listen to Barry Rozner from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on the Score's "Hit and Run" show at WSCR 670-AM and follow him @BarryRozner on Twitter.