Shell Knowledge
An Easter thank you: Phil Mickelson turns to Houston's swing doctor
You never know what to expect from Phil Mickelson, arguably both the most creative and baffling golfer on the PGA Tour. On Easter Sunday, it wasn't the two shots into the water, or the stretch of six straight birdies, the alternating bad and good golfing Phils that seem to wrestle against each other almost every tournament, that surprised though.
Instead, it was the heart Mickelson showed for Houston.
When Phil Mickelson motioned for someone in the crowd to join him inside the ropes — and start hauling his bag around as a replacement caddy — it seemed like a gesture more fit for April Fools' Day than Easter. In fact, when it first happened, everyone else in the gallery assumed he was joking.
But Mickelson was on a mission at the Shell Houston Open. And it wasn't about getting ready for The Masters (Mickelson essentially dismissed the idea that the Shell provides good Masters prep.) No, this was about paying those in Houston back who helped his family through the hardest moments of their lives.
Not a lot of people know this, but when Mickelson's wife Amy was diagnosed with breast cancer that public battle took a largely private journey to the Bayou City. Amy Mickelson received a lot of her treatment at the Nellie B. Connally Breast Cancer Center at Houston's MD Anderson Cancer Center. This is the city where the Mickelsons faced many of their greatest fears.
So with Mickelson back here playing golf — and he played the Shell this week largely because of his feelings for Houston — he knew he wanted to honor one of the doctors who helped most of all.
That's how Dr. Tom Buchholz of MD Anderson found himself being called inside the ropes by the No. 3-ranked golfer in the world today. Then, Mickelson's longtime regular caddie Jim "Bones" McKay handed Buchholz the bag. For the next three holes, it'd be Phil and the Houston doctor walking together inside the ropes, teaming up against Redstone Golf Club as PGA Tour pro and doctor/caddie.
It seemed like a funny moment if you didn't know the background. If you did, it could have brought a slight tear to the eye.
"This man is a brilliant man," Mickelson said after his round. "One of the best doctors in the world. He's helped us through the hardest times that Amy and I have gone through."
Buchholz caddied back in college and moonlighted at a few professional tournaments in the early 1980s. Still, this was a slightly different animal.
Mickelson and Buchholz came up with the plan as a way to relieve some of the stress during Amy's treatment. "It was a story we talked about over the many hours and weeks and months we've been together in the hospital," Mickelson said.
The plan ended up working so well that it changed. Originally, Mickelson only thought he'd have Buchholz caddie one hole. Then, Mickelson birdied that hole. And the next. And the next.
Everyone was getting awfully comfortable — as the crowd got more and more excited.
"I looked up and I saw (his regular caddie) Bones in the stands," Mickelson said. "It looked like he had a hot dog and a beer. I'm like, 'I have to get him back in there.' "
So Mickleson relieved Buchholz of his duties with more handshakes of thanks. Of course, Mickelson promptly only pared his first hole without the good doctor.
Easter moments only last so long.
