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American Morning

Phil Mickelson Remains Best Player Never to Have Won a Major

Aired August 20, 2001 - 09:57   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: I hate to jump on Phil Mickelson, but everybody is going to talk about this, because he is licking his wounds this morning. Once again, he almost -- almost -- won a major golf event. But Mickelson is now zero for 34 in majors.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And we could talk all morning about whether he lost it or whether he was beat, but David Toms definitely deserves his props this morning. He is counting his cash, nearly $1 million.

Our John Giannone now has a look at Toms' 18th-hole victory at the PGA Championship.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN GIANNONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Phil Mickelson doesn't care to measure degrees of pain or quantify levels of disappointment or compare his moments of anguish. He only knows that after another major letdown on Sunday, the pain, the disappointment and the anguish hurts just as much as ever.

PHIL MICKELSON, PGA CHAMPIONSHIP RUNNER-UP: Everybody here is talking about trying to break through and win one major. I am trying to win a bunch of majors. And what's frustrating is that I can't even get by the first one. And so that's the difficulty.

DAVID TOMS, PGA CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER: When I walked into the scorer's table there, I looked at him and said: "I'm sorry. You played good you. And you deserve to win a major."

And he said: "Don't worry about it. Good playing and congratulations."

MICKELSON: I was never able to get a lead. And that was certainly frustrating, because I felt that could have been a real momentum changer. And the opportunities came a few times throughout the round where I was even. And I just wasn't able to make the birdie to get ahead.

GIANNONE: Because of that, Mickelson stared down a frantic final hole in which David Toms laid up in the fairway, Mickelson's birdie putt laid up inches short, and another dream was painfully laid to rest. MICKELSON: I actually was hoping he would go for it, because off of that lie, I didn't see any way of the ball staying on the green. So when he laid up, I really thought that he might make par. And so I was still trying to get at the pin.

TOMS: I looked at my caddie and I said, "The best I can do is to hit this over the green." And so I said, "Let's just lay up."

And he said, "If that's what you are thinking, go with it."

SCOTT GNEISER, CADDIE FOR DAVID TOMS: I said, "Get a look at what it looks like out there." And then when he got to it and put it behind the ball, and I could see where his feet were and see how the club was sitting, there was no way we could have stopped that ball.

MICKELSON: Well, as he was addressing the putt, I turned to my caddie and said, "Does this remind you of anything?" because it was a very similar situation to '99 at Pinehurst, where, forced to lay up, hit a good shot to about 12 feet, and I had a tough putt for birdie that just didn't go. And so it just seemed like it was destined to go in.

GIANNONE: It was assumed that Mickelson would have a huge advantage at 18 because of his superior length off the tee and accurate iron play.

However, his ultimate undoing in this tournament may have been the treacherous final four holes. During the week, Mickelson played 15 through 18 in two over par, while Toms was two under.

At the PGA Championship in Duluth, Georgia, I am John Giannone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Congratulations.

KAGAN: And Toms finally wins the PGA Championship. He earns his way onto the Ryder Cup team -- the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

HARRIS: That's right. That's Right.

KAGAN: Absolutely. So it's not the last we have heard from him.

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