Is Phil more loved by NY fans than Tiger?
Here’s an interesting article by Ron Croichick of the Chronicle comparing Phil’s popularit to Arnold Palmer’s:
At any rate, Mickelson’s connection with New Yorkers, and fans across the land, only fuels his renewed rivalry with Woods. The parallels to Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer are valid — Woods, like Nicklaus, as the uber-focused No. 1 player in the world, largely conservative in his on-course decisions, and Mickelson, like Palmer, as the people’s choice challenger, swinging from his heels and firing at the flag.
Mickelson has toned down his aggressive play the past few years, but he openly emulates Palmer in one respect. Two years ago, before the Open at Shinnecock, Mickelson talked about seeing Palmer sign autographs for 90 minutes during the 1994 Open at Oakmont. That scene, Mickelson said, convinced him to use Palmer as a role model in the way he interacted with fans.
And now, not coincidentally, they love him — especially in New York.
“Winged Foot is going to be huge,” Steffen said. “It’s going to be out of control.”
More here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2006/06/13/SPGK2JD0EQ1.DTL
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