As someone that has been playing golf professionally since 1992, it’s likely that Phil Mickelson has seen countless delays due to the weather. The rain has certainly played a factor in whether or not he could take part in a tee time, but the man nicknamed Lefty experienced an entirely new issue on the final day of the BMW Championship.
Mickelson nearly missed his Sunday tee time at the tournament because his hotel caught on fire. According to a post on Twitter, Mickelson was staying on the top floor of the hotel and had to evacuate due to a lightning strike that caught the building on fire. Without access to his clubs or clothes, he nearly missed his 11:52 a.m. tee time with Brooks Koepka and Dylan Frittelli.
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“How’s this for crazy? My hotel was struck by lighting, I was on [the] top floor, we were evacuated and the place is on fire(only thing of mine on fire this week.) I can’t get back into my room and may miss my tee time because I am without clubs and clothes,” Mickelson wrote.
Phil Mickelson is at Medinah. Pulled in at 10:15 local. Arrived in flip flops and put his spikes on in the parking lot. Took a couple swings with a training aid and went to the range. He’s off 10 tee in 30 minutes. pic.twitter.com/H3WP2tKHz7
— Nick Menta (@NickMentaGC) August 18, 2019
Fortunately for Lefty, the EMTs were able to help him acquire his needed gear and clothing. According to Sports Illustrated, he arrived at the BMW Championship with 30 minutes to spare, wearing flip flops no less, but was able to don his shoes and take a few practice swings before heading out for the final day of competition.
This fire actually brings Mickelson’s 2018-2019 season of competition to a close. In order to continue in the FedEx Playoffs, he needed to finish among the top 30 golfers. Following the BMW Championship, Lefty placed 46th overall, 11 spots below his projected finish.
Of course, the most terrifying part of Sunday morning was not that Mickelson’s hotel caught on fire. No, what made the entire sequence of events worse is that he forgot to call his mother and inform her that he was safe. Mickelson’s sister responded to his tweet with the comment, “Bro-you can’t tweet this stuff until AFTER you call Mom to tell her you’re ok. Just spoke with her. Btw….call her. She would like ‘a word.’”
It doesn’t matter that Mickelson has more than 25 years of experience as a professional golfer or that he is one of the most decorated competitors in the PGA; he still committed a major error by forgetting to call his mother during a harrowing sequence of events. Big mistake for Lefty.
