Phil Mickelson is as synonymous with the USA Ryder Cup as anyone in the game and over the years he’s had both good and bad moments as part of that team.
Mickelson has been outspoken in the past during press conferences and even been involved in on-stage arguments with teammates in front of the press.
On the flipside, Mickelson has also been a popular member of the team and having helped Team USA to three wins, he has plenty of experience.
Furthermore, it’s not always negative when it comes to the press for Mickelson either. And back in 2012 after the US had thrown away the cup in the ‘Miracle at Medinah’, Mickelson actually moved to defend his then captain, Davis Love III.
Why Phil Mickelson defended Davis Love III at the Ryder Cup in 2012
Speaking at the press conference after sitting out the afternoon session, Davis Love III came under pressure from journalists for leaving Mickelson and Keegan Bradley out.
However, butting in to support his captain, Mickelson told journalists that if anything, the decision and mistake was on him, not the skipper.
“As far as playing Keegan and I, you need to hear something. Keegan and I knew going in that we were not playing in the afternoon, and we said on the first tee, we are going to put everything we have into this one match, because we are not playing the afternoon,” Mickelson began.
“And when we got to 10, I went to Davis and I said, listen, you’re seeing our best; you cannot put us in the afternoon, because we emotionally and mentally are not prepared for it. And I know you’re going to get pressure, because we’re playing so good.
“But we have other guys that are dying to get out there, and we have mentally put everything into this match; we won’t have anything later, and so you need to stay to our plan.
“So you cannot put that on him; if anything, it was me, because I went to him 10 and said that to him.”
How Phil Mickelson performed at the 2012 Ryder Cup
While Mickelson’s overall record of just three wins from 12 Ryder Cups is not great, he was one of the players to perform well at Medinah.
Alongside Keegan Bradley, he helped the US take down Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia, before seeing off Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell on the same day.
On the Saturday, Mickelson and Bradley hammered Lee Westwood and Luke Donald 7&6, before they sat out the afternoon session as mentioned above.
- READ MORE: The moment when Tiger Woods did the ‘impossible’ at the Presidents Cup to leave Gary Player shocked
In singles action, Mickelson enjoyed a ding-dong battle with Justin Rose before finally succumbing to the Englishman one-up.
Looking back, had Mickelson and Bradley gone out again – Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker lost as replacements – then the US might well have won the cup.
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