Phil pulling his unique Jean Van de Velde

[daz]

Black Jack Phil

Anyone know if Callaway have now paid off all of his gambling debts ?

 

[christopherswalker]

Many players have a 'public persona' that is totally different than the real person.

They can project well to the public and media etc. but can be real "a-holes".

Bruce

I've worked a tournament and had some interaction with him. If he is faking, he is a really good actor.

 

[EdZ]

Many players have a 'public persona' that is totally different than the real person.

They can project well to the public and media etc. but can be real "a-holes".

Bruce

At the '96 Masters I was standing on the 17th tee as Phil was getting ready to tee off. He was still 'in it' at the time given where Norman was headed, so you could see his focus. He stopped to take a drink of water, not quite finishing it, and lobbed it towards a trash bin near where I was standing. It hit the lip of the bin, and splashed what was left of the water all over me. Given the situation, I would have understood if he hadn't even noticed, but he took a moment to appologize. To be honest, I think that it knocked him out of his concentration, as he was visually 'out of the zone' he had been in. He went on to miss the tee shot, and bogey the hole (if memory serves correctly). In any case, my only direct interaction with him was at least one that did not demonstrate the trait you mention. That said, I'm fully aware that public vs private personality can be very, very different.

 

[blehnhard]

I was not necessarily referring to Phil in my post. I have not had any personal interaction with him, so I am not qualified to judge.

My comments were more general. Having played in 9 PGA Tour events, 4 Majors, and over 50 Senior (Champions) Tour events, some guys are genuine both on stage and off, and some are not.

Bruce