The latest edition of my Twitter analysis focuses on Phil Mickelson’s strange decision to hit a moving ball in the U.S. Open in the third round this afternoon. If that sounds confusing, that’s because it is.
Mickelson missed a putt badly, and it appeared to be rolling down a very steep hill. Before it could roll too far, he ran over to the ball while it was still rolling and hit it again quickly. By rule, he was assessed a two-stroke penalty, which didn’t really affect any of the standings since he was already well out of the running for first place. Here’s what it looked like:
Phil Mickelson just did something you do if you're four years old and playing mini golf for the first time. pic.twitter.com/k0AxplqdMg
I think Sean summed it up pretty well there. Of course, the commentators freaked out about it. They suggested that Mickelson’s reputation would take a hit and that he should feel embarrassed. Personally, I’ve always felt Phil comes across as a little too polished when it comes to public relations, and I get the sense he isn’t as great a person as everyone thinks he is. This may be a small glimpse of his true personality.
Regardless of how you feel about Phil Mickelson, when an event like this happens and everyone has an opinion on it, we know by now that there’s only one place to go to get all the hottest takes – Twitter! Here’s what a few other people had to say:
I’d rather watch "Phil Mickelson" do crazy sh!t on his birthday than listen to Joe Buck talk about anything.
Mike takes the least creative route of all and turns this whole Phil Mickelson thing into an opportunity to bash Joe Buck. This is my front-runner for “coldest take” out there. Buck isn’t really annoying anymore; he’s a decent announcer that does a bunch of big time events. If anyone should hate him, it’s a Vikings fan like me who listens to him ramble on and on about Aaron Rodgers for five Packers games per year (and I don’t hate him).
Disgraceful move by Phil Mickelson. Embarrassment to the game. Thought he was better than that. Bush league.
Jimmy comes in hot here making fun of the overreactions. Short and simple. I like it. At the same time, if I hadn’t been watching the U.S. Open and had only been following along with the Twitter reactions, I don’t know what conclusion I would have come to regarding what actually transpired on the course.
Ex pga commissioner says Phil Mickelson should be disqualified before tomorrow's play
Here is my leading candidate for underrated outrageous tweet of the day. The vagueness of it is what makes it great. Which ex-PGA commissioner? How does Viddles here know the ex-PGA commissioner? Is it the ex-PGA commissioner’s opinion that he should be disqualified, or is it actually an official ruling? I really want to look further into this Twitter account for similar takes. Well done, Viddles.
Everyone always complains about pace of play. Phil Mickelson finds a way to speed it up and everyone complains more. I mean, you just can't win.
Jason is the Twitter MVP of the day, coming in with some great sarcastic tweets. Those are just a couple of my favorites.
Phil Mickelson, Trump's golf course designer at his Indonesian Trump International Golf Club, made an idiot of himself today at the US Open Championship. After missing a putt, he deliberately hit it again before it stopped. Childish tantrums seem to very popular with Trumpers.
Not to make this political, but if you’re trying to relate Phil Mickelson hitting a moving golf ball to Donald Trump, it may be time to take a step back.
Well, there you have it. Another day, another series of great thoughts from the Twitter community. Imagine if it had been Tiger Woods hitting that putt instead of Mickelson!
