Phil Mickelson hits a driver during the third round of the 2010 Masters.
If you’re a Phil Mickelson fan and into omens, then you might be rooting for Lefty to damage his driver before this year’s Masters. That’s because the last time that happened to Mickelson, it set off a wild chain of events that ultimately led to his third Masters title.
Although Mickelson is far better known for winning his second Masters in 2006 armed with two drivers in the bag, the tale of his driver in 2010 is far less known, but no less compelling.
Rewind to the week before the Masters in 2010 when Mickelson cracked the carbon-composite shell of his Callaway FT Tour TA driver during the final round of the Shell Houston Open.
Normally replacing a driver is no big deal, but Mickelson wanted that driver and the composite shell made repairing it far more complicated. Making matters more stressful was the fact it wasn’t something that could be done in the tour van at Augusta.
Briefly, the golfer’s driver needed a complete overhaul. Dr. Alan Hocknell, who was the senior Vice President of Research and Development at Callaway, oversaw the procedure. Hocknell received the club on Sunday night before Masters week and received a text message from Mickelson, who was in Augusta, on Monday morning inquiring about the club’s condition and chances of recovery.
Hocknell and his team carried out a repair that they described as groundbreaking, by separating the carbon composite body from the clubface without removing the Mitsubishi Fubuki shaft to maintain the original loft and lie.
Hocknell mentioned that there was some apprehension among the team members since they had never attempted this type of repair before. The identical weights were placed in the equivalent position within the fresh casing prior to it being affixed to the titanium cup surface, with the identical skid plate being incorporated on the underside.
By 3:30 that afternoon, the driver was en route to Augusta on a flight and was handed to Mickelson at the eighth tee during his Tuesday practice session at Augusta National.
Mickelson opted for the driver and ended up ranking second in the field in terms of distance with an average driving distance of 297.1 yards while defeating Lee Westwood by a margin of three shots.
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