The Barclays - Scenes from a Driving Range

By Paul Mahoney
At Ridgewood County Club

At 10am during the first round of The Barclays, when all the players for the morning tee times had set off across the course, the driving range was finally deserted. Except for one player. Phil Mickelson was the lone ranger (which clearly makes Bones, his caddie, Tonto).

Three hours before his afternoon tee time, the World No.2 was pounding balls with his driver into the trees at the far end of the range. Make that two drivers. A spot of pre-round tweaking going on?

Perhaps that’s why he waited until all his rivals had left so no one would see what he was up to. Rumbled. “Yeah, I’m just trying out a couple of drivers,” Mickelson said. “They are set up slightly different and are back-ups for the one I usually play with.” Nah, he was up to something.

He was twitchy. Further investigation required. What’s wrong with his No.1 driver? “Err, I don’t really know,” he said grinning. That grin said he would rather keep that so himself. He marched off wearing pinstripe pants. Maybe he has to dash off to a business meeting on Wall Street after his round.

The driving range is like the doctor’s waiting room. It’s the place to spot who is carrying aches and pains, who’s tweaking, who’s tinkering, who’s hot, who’s not.It’s a place to chat and catch up, too. A place to discuss last night’s sports results or tweet photographs of your pants (see: Ian Poulter and Rickie Fowler). Or maybe discuss who’s going to get a Ryder Cup wildcard pick and who isn’t (see Paul Casey and Padraig Harrington).

The Englishman and Irishman have caused quite a stir in Europe for their decision to play at The Barclays instead of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, Scotland. It is the last qualifying event for the European team. Captain Colin Montgomerie picks his three wildcards on Sunday. Casey, Harrington, Luke Donald and Justin Rose, the FedEx Four as they have been dubbed, are all hoping for a good news call from Monty. One, or maybe even two of them, is going to get bad news.

Earlier in the week, Casey and Harrington were beating balls at opposite ends of the range. Harrington was practicing swinging along the line of two umbrellas that had been stuck into the turf. Maybe they were helping him with his alignment. Or maybe they were there in case of an unexpected shower of Ryder Cup questions.

Casey was plugged into his iPod. Not sure even if it was switched on or merely a tactic to keep unwanted visitors at bay. You know, the way players’ managers pretend to be talking on their cell phones all the time. Practice sessions completed, Casey wandered over to Harrington. They chatted and laughed for a few minutes before going their separate ways. Casey promised to talk about the Ryder Cup after Monty makes his calls on Sunday. The FedEx Four will have their cell phones on red alert.

Meanwhile, Dustin Johnson was practicing in a bunker. It was definitely a bunker. It had sand in it.