That’s why Mickelson remains the most intriguing player in the game. No one has ever said he didn’t possess great skills that are second to only Woods, but he’s a fascinating study. He’s willing to change his swing, but he’s not willing to change his aggressive nature.

Chances are, he will have to tone it down next month, because in all due respect, Oakmont isn’t Sawgrass. Mickelson won’t catch “flyers” out of the Oakmont rough, so the chance of playing onto the greens from errant drives is far smaller than they were at the Stadium Course.

Not to brush aside the Mickelson-Harmon association, because it’s quite a tandem, but perhaps the biggest factor in the left-hander’s win at The Players Championship was the re-work done on the Stadium Course. Thick and overseeded rye rough, the type from which you sometimes can’t play, was replaced with natural Bermuda grass, which was far friendlier and invited those with imagination to try and work their magic.

“And Phil’s short game is as good, if not better than Tiger’s,” said Harmon.

No argument here. That has never been the part of the game that created such a gap between these two giants. No, the gap has always resulted from course-management skills and superior decision-making abilities that help fuel Woods’ icon status.

Maybe eventually Mickelson will put so much trust in Harmon that he listens to the famed instructor and takes the foot off the pedal a little more often. He didn’t at Charlotte and he didn’t really have to at Sawgrass, which, while penal if you’re off line, is still more forgiving a layout than Oakmont is going to be.

So, by all means, salute the swiftness of success for a heralded relationship and raise a toast to Mickelson’s win at the Players. But take it for what it is: A trial run for what really will be their true test, the U.S. Open.

If Mickelson wins that one, he’ll solidify his status as earth’s greatest golfer (assuming we accept Woods as being in his own world) — and Harmon’s stature as an instructor would be re-assessed upward in dramatic fashion.

But like all great teams, they’re only as good as their next game.

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