Phil Mickelson can reach No. 1 in the world, but he would likely trade it for a day without pain.
Turns out, Lefty has been hurting for weeks with arthritis.
“Every joint in my body started to hurt to where I couldn’t move,” Mickelson told reporters Tuesday in advance of the PGA Championship.
He was describing a moment during a family vacation in Hawaii, where thoughts of swinging a golf club were taking a back seat to just simple living.
“I would just lay down and I couldn’t roll over,” Mickelson said.
Here’s a guy, whose wife is recovering from breast cancer and if that isn’t enough emotional baggage to carry, so is his mother.
Now, he can’t get off the couch.
“I certainly had the gamut of thoughts.”
Phil Mickelson plays the 14th in US Open at Pebble Beach. Photo copyright USGA/Hunter Martin
It’s not difficult to imagine how far that gamut extended and so he ultimately sought the expert opinion of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. and found he was under attack by his own body.
The diagnosis is psoriatic arthritis and according to MayoClinic.com, there is no cure, but it is treatable and Mickelson said he’s already better.
“I’m surprised at how quickly it’s gone away, and how quickly it’s been able to be managed and controlled,” Mickelson said of the immune disorder that literally attacks healthy cells. “I feel a hundred percent, like I say, but when I’m laying there on the couch and I can’t move, you know, yeah, I had some concerns. But I feel a lot better now.”
The condition is related to the skin disorder proriasis, which normally appears first. But a patient may also develop symptoms of arthritis before skin irritation as was the case with Mickelson, who said he’s taken a course of Enbrel injections and has seen an immediate effect.
“I feel great,” Mickelson said. “I’m able to work out, lift, and don’t have any pain.”
As with many conditions, early detection is key and Mickelson said he is free of symptoms that started with pain in his Achilles and left index finger and right wrist. He first noticed it the Sunday before the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in June.
But he said it would loosen up after a few hours of walking and stretching and he was able to play, which included a 66 in the Friday round and an overall fourth-place finish. Then, the pain and stiffness spread to his hips and shoulders and elbows and a variety of joints.
That led to greater concern and an initial diagnosis that was later confirmed by the Mayo Clinic.
In between, though, he played in the British Open at St. Andrews, where he finished in a tie for 48th.
Mickelson said his physical condition was not a factor at Pebble Beach and may have impacted his preparation for St. Andrews but did not play a significant role.
So, he held his tongue on the topic for the last two months because he wanted to know what, if possible, lay in front of him.
“First of all, I don’t want excuses. And second, I don’t want to discuss something when I don’t know what the outcome is going to be,” Mickelson said. “For five or six weeks, I was a little unsure of how this was going to affect me long‑term, career, what‑have‑you.”
His profession should work in his favor as physical activity and exercise is recommended to help combat the symptoms. Mickelson said he’s also opted to go meatless, no token sacrifice for the noted burger fan.
“The last seven weeks ‑‑ this will be the shocker. I’ve actually been a vegetarian believe it or not,” said Mickelson, who is paired with Graeme McDowell and Louis Oosthuizen for the first two rounds of the PGA. “I know this is crazy, but I know, I know.”
The new dietary guidelines are not part of his specific treatment plan, but something he read in a book, Mickelson said, and the true therapy may lie in the power of positive thinking.
But he’ll take it.
“As long as I believe that there’s a possibility that it will help me overall, yeah, I’ll continue to do that. If it will somehow keep this in remission or stop it from coming back, yeah, I’ll be able to do it,” he said. “But I haven’t been put to the real test. The real test is driving by a Five Guys (Burgers and Fries) and not stopping. I don’t know if I can do that yet, but we’ll see.”
Mickelson has just one victory this season, but it came at the Masters. Last week at Firestone, Mickelson shot 66-68 to head into the weekend in contention at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational but followed with 71-78 to finish T-46.
He has the chance for the second straight week to attain the top slot in the Official World Golf Ranking and supplant Tiger Woods with a victory at the PGA that starts Thursday. There are four additional avenues that would lead to No. 1 while Steve Stricker could also get to the top but Stricker needs more help.
A win for Mickelson at Whistling Straits would be his second PGA title and fifth career major. He finished in a tie for sixth there in 2004.
Mickelson’s biggest victories these days come away from the golf course, but winning seems to make the road a little smoother.
“If I were somehow able to come out on top at the end of this week, it would just be an incredible year.”
Mike Scarr is the editor of Golflink.com. He can be reached at golflinkeditor@demandmedia.com.
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