Victory in a major is top priority for Mickelson

Dean Juipe

Friday, Oct. 16, 1998 | 10:57 a.m.

For all of his golf successes -- or maybe because of them -- Phil Mickelson faces a relentless, almost insulting, line of questioning.

He is forever being asked about his standing as perhaps the finest player in the world to never have won a major championship.

Dogged as he may be by the label, Mickelson routinely answers civilly and with a smile -- just as he did Thursday when the question was not why he hadn't yet won a major but why he hadn't yet won a Las Vegas Invitational.

"I'm trying," he said. "Believe me, I'm trying."

Nonetheless, both dry spells will continue at least into 1999. Mickelson not only didn't win a major this year, he won't win this weekend's LVI.

His second-round 70 at the Las Vegas Country Club left him at even par after two rounds of the five-day tournament, putting him in danger of missing the cut for the first time in his six LVIs.

"I thought 64 would be a pretty good number today," Mickelson said of his goal heading into the second round. "But I missed that by a little, didn't I?"

Erratic and maybe even indifferent, Mickelson played as if his mind were elsewhere. The LVI is his first PGA Tour event in six weeks and his concentration -- as well as his game -- wasn't where it needed to be if he was to recover from his opening 74 at the Desert Inn.

"I'm pretty rusty right now," he said. "I'm not hitting the ball good, I'm not putting good and I'm not chipping good."

But he readily admits he's having a first-rate time in Las Vegas. In fact, Phil's becoming something of a Vegas-sy guy, given his bankroll, his striking good looks and his fascination with card games.

After it was apparent that 64 was out of reach, he played out the string at the Country Club and used his time between shots to quiz his caddy and his amateur playing partners about their blackjack strategies.

"Here's one I always forget: Do you split 7s to a 7 showing?" he asked, hopeful someone in the group had the proper advice. A few moments later he wondered aloud about the benefits of splitting 3s and he kept a running conversation with a playing partner, who professed to know the ins and outs of the popular game.

By the time Mickelson's wife, Amy, found her husband on the 16th hole and walked in with him, golf had all but given way to gambling as the focal point of their day.

"We're having a lot of fun and, really, my goal now is just to get ready for The Tour Championship (in late October)," he said. "I've got at least one more round here, but I'll need to shoot at least 66 to make the cut."

That's the type of score he would have needed every day to win the LVI.

"I figure it takes five rounds of averaging 66 and a half to win here," he said. "If you shoot a 70, that means you need a 63 to make it up. That's the difficult part of playing this tournament: it's tough to make up a lot of ground."

As is also the case in the four annual majors, more often than not Mickelson contends for the LVI championship. He has finished 14th, 8th, 30th, 3rd and 19th in his five previous LVIs.

A similar finish appears unlikely this year, although his season as a whole has been spectacularly solid. He opened the year with a victory in the Mercedes Championships and also won the rain-delayed Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in August.

Overall, he's third on the tour money list with $1,755,646 in 21 events, raising his career earnings to $6.8 million. At 28 years old, the lanky, long-hitting Mickelson already has 13 tour victories.

"It's been a good year for me," he said. "I'm pleased with some improvements I've made and I'm at the top part of the money list. I won twice and I've finished second twice."

A native of California but an Arizona resident for several years, Mickelson is an unfailingly cordial golfer with a graceful swing. He's a big hitter with a soft touch, although neither trait was paying a dividend at the Country Club, as he fought his way to two-under par after an early bogey at No. 3 and another at No. 8.

Birdies at Nos. 6, 10, 14 and 18 drew polite applause from those who followed him, although most in the small gallery recognized their man was not having a banner day.

"He's going to have to go some to make the cut," offered an elderly lady who walked the full 18. Later she confided that she liked "Lefty" -- who does everything but swing a golf club right-handed -- because "he seems like he'd be the perfect son."

But even a perfect son can get sidetracked in Las Vegas.

"I should carry one of those cards that always tells you the right play," Mickelson said to an amateur in his group, referring to a cheat sheet that blackjack players can refer to when they're uncertain whether to ask for a card or whether to stay.

When the man replied that he habitually knew the appropriate play from experience and not by having to consult an index card, a look of admiration overcame Mickelson's boyish face.

This week at least, it's obvious his priorities have changed.

No major titles? No LVI wins? Who cares when you're on vacation and the card games never quit?