“Ever since I was a little kid, the way I would deal with things would be go chip in my backyard before I could drive, or when I could drive,” said Mickelson, who turns 39 on Tuesday. “I would go to the course and hit a few balls. Whenever Amy was sleeping or whenever I had a minute, I would either take the kids to the course or I would just go to the range for an hour and hit some balls.”

After a disappointing tie for 19th at Torrey Pines last June, Mickelson has been looking to this Open, eagerly anticipating the dynamic galleries and A.W. Tillinghast test. He finished at even par and three strokes behind Woods at Bethpage in '02, the only players to avoid “plus” on their tournament log. A winner of three majors and 36 PGA Tour events, Mickelson loves the course and the environment. Perhaps a New York state of mind can ease his troubled soul.

Hopefully, he will play well. Hopefully, he will make the weekend and savor the experience. It's hard to imagine, under these circumstances, you might hope for anything more ... unless you are Mickelson. He's not coming to Long Island for emotional handouts. He's not specifically looking for compassion, he's looking to contend.

“I'm not playing just to play,” said Mickelson, who has two wins this season. “I think Bethpage is a golf course that suits my game, that I love playing on that course, I love playing in the New York area. I'm playing here because I believe I can win. ... Again, there's a lot of question marks that I'll have. But that's the goal.”

The Open has been Mickelson's most persistent tormentor. In addition to the close second to Stewart at Pinehurst, he has three other runner-up finishes in this USGA boot camp. Most prominent of the near misses was the infamous Meltdown at Mamaroneck in 2006. Gunning for a third consecutive major win at the time, Mickelson relinquished the tournament in a 72nd hole misadventure at Winged Foot. He has not known the lead at a major since.

He will be the favorite at Bethpage, there's no doubt. He will be embraced by his competitive contemporaries and squeezed by fans who love him for both his talent and vulnerability. At the “People's Open” he will be the people's choice.

To expect anything more than that, from one so distracted, on a golf course so demanding, would be silly. But wouldn't it be something? Wouldn't it be something if the U.S. Open picked this week to favor Phil, as well? No one would enjoy that more than Amy Mickelson.

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