Touching base with Freddie

Updated: March 9, 2005, 4:31 PM ET

By Bob Verdi | Golf World

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Fred Couples, do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

"I do. That is a tape recorder, isn't it?"

You are PGA Tour commissioner for a day. There's talk of changes – a shorter season. What do you do?

Couples would make his share of changes if he had Tim Finchem's position.

"First of all, I have no complaints about the way I've been treated. I don't want to sound like a spoiled brat, but should there be changes? Of course. We can't stand still."

Well, you really haven't. Prize money has gone one way – up.

"True. Our sponsors, the support we get, unbelievable. But I wonder where it's going. The tour has big TV negotiations coming up this year. Are we going to keep getting more? I hear we'll be lucky to get what we have now."

Is that enough to keep players happy?

"Well, that's who I'm looking out for, the players.Vijay Singh won nine tournaments last year. Phenomenal. But people say, 'Well, yeah, but he made almost $11 million.' I think for that skill level, it should be $14 or $15 million."

You're a fan of other sports. How much are your opinions based on that?

"Oh, a lot. If Vijay were a free agent in baseball, can you imagine what George Steinbrenner would pay him after a year like that? Instead, he starts out 2005 with zero."

But isn't that the essence of the PGA Tour? Pay for performance, not promise. Miss the cut, no money.

"It is, but are our best players, the four or five guys who really drive the bus, getting what they deserve? For instance, you had the WGC-Accenture Match Play event worth $7 million going against the Chrysler Classic of Tucson the same weekend for a $3 million purse. That's nuts."

How so?

"The best 64 golfers are at the Match Play. That field should be worth, I don't know, 10 times what the other tournament is worth. That way, the best guys would be paid more because they deserve more."

Should the Tucson event be eliminated?

"That ain't gonna happen. We all know the season is too long, but if you have sponsors willing to put up the money, fine. What we do for charity is great. But the best guys want to play the best guys, and those tournaments are just different. I don't knock the guy who wins Tucson, because it's incredibly hard to win anywhere. But not as hard as winning the Match Play."

So, what's your solution?

"When you go to the Masters, they don't tell you the prize money until the weekend you're there, right? Why can't they do the same with our regular events?"

You mean, adjust purses according to strength of field?

"Well, all tournaments aren't equal, but when the schedule comes out in January, it's printed right there what the prize money is. Meanwhile, players have until Friday before a tournament to commit. The tour puts up 62 percent of the total purse. Maybe they should put up more for a tournament with 40 of the top 50 golfers instead of 10 of 50."

You think that would work?

"If I'm Phil Mickelson sitting at home for a couple weeks, and I see I've fallen to seventh on the money list, maybe I check on Greensboro, a place I don't usually play, and see what's going on. If a few other top guys are there, and Phil decides to go, too, the purse goes up. Then maybe Tiger decides, I'll go, too."

How do you make that happen?

"You tell me. They always say to us, 'It's your tour, guys.' But how much input do we really have? If I'm commissioner for a day, I meet with my top guys. Tim Finchem and his people are always going to the stars saying, 'We really need you to play Houston,' or 'We could really use you in Honda.' Players should dictate purses. The World Ranking takes into account strength of field. Why not with prize money?"

About yourself. Still hoping to be a Ryder Cup captain?

"My window is about closed. Is that what they say, 'window'? Tom Lehman is next year, and Paul Azinger, who could have had it next year, will probably be captain in 2008. So I'll be 50 when the next one happens. They won't be naming guys who are 50, although Jay Haas would have been great."

You're Ryder Cup captain for a day, what would you do?

"I would make sure the players had some fun. A lot of what goes on now at the Ryder Cup isn't. Guys get beaten down because there's so much stuff that has nothing to do with golf. I'd listen to guys and get some feedback. The days are long. Do they really need to go to all those parades and dinners?"

How's your game after the California swing?

"I played OK in spots, and I want to keep playing, but how about the weather? Even when it's dry, it's wet."

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Mickelson wins first Major

Updated: October 14, 2005, 9:35 AM ET

By Larry Schwartz | Special to ESPN.com

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April 11, 2004

For years, Phil Mickelson has been questioned about his inability to win a major golf championship. The questions ended on a Sunday at Augusta National.

Mickelson, 0-for-46 in majors, trails Ernie Els by three strokes with seven holes to play at the Masters before he catches fire. Three consecutive birdies on 12 to 14 (while Els birdies 15) and then a 15-foot birdie putt on 16 enables him to tie the match.

With Els already in the clubhouse with a dazzling final-round 67 (including two eagles), Mickelson conservatively hits a 3-wood into the 18th fairway and then an 8-iron over the flagstick to 18 feet behind the cup. When playing partner Chris DeMarco, who had begun the day tied with Mickelson for the lead, hits his bunker shot to almost the same spot - but just inches farther away - he gives Mickelson a good read on his putt.

The 33-year-old makes the most of it, curling in the putt for his fifth birdie in seven holes to complete a stunning back-nine 31. With his third straight round of 69 to finish at nine-under-par 279, Lefty has his first major. He jumps with arms raised, shouting, "I did it! I finally did it!"

"To have it be such a difficult journey to win my first major," he says, "makes it that much more special."

The fans also are overjoyed by the outcome. "Golf is in awe of Tiger," Rick Reilly writes in Sports Illustrated, "but it's in love with Phil."

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Fact or Fiction: What's next for Tiger?

Originally Published: March 10, 2005

ESPN.com/Golf Digest

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FACT: The final-round Duel at Doral between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson was the best non-major Sunday finish in, well, a really long time.

	Woods

FICTION: Now that Woods has doubled his win total of last year, you can expect him to be fully satisfied and take the rest of the year off.

Uh, not quite. Woods seemed poised to stay atop the World Ranking, win the money list and claim a few more majors, but can he really accomplish all that with players such as Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Ernie Elsand Retief Goosen providing such solid competition? Our panel of experts debates.

Woods will remain No. 1 in the world through the end of the season.

Bob Harig, contributor, ESPN.com: FICTION. The race between Woods, Singh and Els is too close. And if Mickelson were to win the Masters, he'd be right in the mix, too. Look for the No. 1 ranking to bounce around a few times.

Jason Sobel, golf editor, ESPN.com: FACT. Still not sure how, in the wacky world of statistics and formulas that constitute the World Ranking, Tiger's three wins in the past 14 months are enough to push him past Singh and his 10 wins in that same time. But as the season progresses, Woods' non-wins from last season will count less and his '05 play will count more. That can only mean he'll keep moving up.

Craig Bestrom, senior editor, Golf Digest: FACT. Two wins in four starts (we can't count the "unofficial" 36-hole Nissan Open) put Tiger back on top, but he'll have to continue winning to stay No. 1 for long. His record at Sawgrass isn't great, and if he doesn't win there in two weeks, he'll probably have to at Augusta to remain No. 1 heading into the three majors this summer.

Brian Wacker, assistant editor, GolfDigest.com: FACT. Tiger has more competition right now than he's ever had at any point during his career with Mickelson, Singh, Els and Goosen collectively playing their best golf. But that'll only motivate Tiger. His swing is back, and he's making all the big putts -- the way he did on the 17th at Doral last Sunday for birdie to beat Mickelson -- when they matter most.

Ron Sirak, executive editor, Golf World magazine: FACT. Eldrick is just about back to being Tiger again. He's not giving up the top spot until the next time he decides he needs a swing change.The vacation is over for Mickelson, Els and Singh.

Woods will finish atop the money list.

Bestrom: FICTION. Singh plays 10 more events a year than Tiger, and he contends in nearly all of them. Unless he hurts himself again, Singh's well on his way to another money title in 2005.

Sirak: FACT. This has all the feel of a six-win year -- at least. The only way he doesn't win the money title is if Vijay plays 35 events. And even then Woods might beat him.

Harig: FACT. Woods is so consistently strong that he wins a lot of money even if he is "off." If he is on his way to another big season in victories, then he'll capture the money title, too.

Sobel: FICTION. He won't place first on the money list because, simply, he doesn't care about the money list. If it's close at the end of the year, Tiger won't rearrange his schedule to play Disney or the Chrysler Championship, while a guy like Singh will still be grinding away.

Wacker: FACT. It'll be close because Singh plays about 10 more tournaments a year than Tiger, and has consistently posted a lot of top-10s the last couple of years. But in the end Tiger will win enough -- and win enough big tournaments -- to finish the season No. 1 on the PGA Tour money list.

Woods will win at least two majors this year.

Sobel: FACT. Two is tough, though. That means only two other major victories to be split among Singh, Els, Mickelson, Goosen and the dozens of other players who are capable of claiming such titles. But Woods' game is solid right now and he measures himself by major victories; two should be right on.

Sirak: FICTION. I'm thinking one major this year and I'm thinking that will be the British Open at St. Andrews. The neat thing about this year is that a bunch of guys are playing well. Els, Singh and Mickelson will pick off one major among them. Somebody relatively new, like an Adam Scott, will grab another. And someone deserving but without a major title, such as Sergio Garcia or Darren Clarke will win the fourth.

Bestrom: FACT. Next up: Augusta, Pinehurst and St. Andrews. Ask any tour player right now who's the favorite at the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open. You'll only get one name. I'll take him against the field in all three, as well.

Harig: FICTION. It is just too hard to win majors, as Woods has seen in his 0-for-10 streak. There are too many strong players who can step up and win them, plus a slew of out-of-nowhere types who are capable of stealing them. Winning one major championship would signal a great year for Woods, and the accomplishment should not be diminished.

Wacker: FACT. Tiger's game appears to be primed for a run at the Masters. He putted exceptionally in Miami, averaging 26.5 putts per round and he's also back to making the ones that matter most. Woods would really stir the Grand Slam pot with a win at the British Open at St. Andrews. The last time it was held there, in Woods' magical 2000 season, he smoked the field, beating Els and Thomas Bjornby eight shots.

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