Two driver strategy pays off for Phil Mickelson

If you think the left-hander wearing a green jacket for the second time in three years went over big with the lords and patrons of Augusta National, imagine the wild celebrations late Sunday in the living room of any CEO lucky enough to be in the business of selling clubs. They were just granted a second license to steal.

The last somebody to play a major with two drivers in the bag was Ian Woosnam in the final round of the 2001 British Open. He was trying out both at the range and his caddie forgot to leave one behind -- a mistake that cost the Welshman a two-stroke penalty, a shot at winning, $300,000 in prize money and the chance to lock up a spot on Europe's Ryder Cup team. Mickelson, on the other hand, never, ever does anything accidentally.

In the same way that he used spreadsheets and graphs of his past performances at Augusta to plot his strategy in winning in 2004, he began planning for this one several weeks ago. Mickelson hatched the idea of carrying two drivers while mulling over how to counter the additional length Masters chairman Hootie Johnson tacked onto the course, not to mention bigger bunkers and a forest of pine trees that sprouted up all over the place.

So last weekend at the BellSouth Classic, Mickelson put both in his bag and took them for a test-drive -- one to draw the ball left to right, with a maximum distance of about 310 yards; the second to fade it right to left, with a limit of 290. He complied with the 14-club limit by leaving the sand wedge in the car trunk, then finished 28 under par and won by a staggering 13 strokes.

"I needed it to combat the added length at Augusta, but this is probably the only course that I'll do it," Mickelson said afterward. "I don't know where else I'll end up needing to do it."

But Mickelson might want to rethink that, based on what he did at the beefed-up Augusta layout. Mickelson won the long-drive contest, averaging 297.5 yards per drive, nearly four yards farther than his closest pursuer and Sunday playing partner Freddie Couples.

His accuracy wasn't nearly as impressive -- he hit 35 of 56 fairways, or 62.5 percent, a number that tied him for 36th. Even so, he launched even wayward drives far enough to take the heat off his approach shots. He tied for fourth in reaching the greens in regulation -- Mickelson hit 50 of 72, or 69.4 percent -- and tied for 16th in fewest putts needed.

What all that added up to was another sterling silver trophy and the wide-eyed respect of his peers.

"You can kid about Phil, but he's one of the most intelligent persons I've ever met," said Billy Mayfair, who finished at even-par, seven strokes behind Mickelson's winning 281 total.

"I don't think you're going to see guys show up every week with two stuck in the bag," Mayfair added, "but you might see guys carrying two drivers at this same time next year."

Mayfair, a short hitter, wasn't the only one enamored of the tactic. Bombers like Couples and Ernie Els sounded almost envious that Mickelson had figured out how to shape two very different shots while using the same swing.

"We've got the technology out there," Els said. "It's how you use it."

Of course, in addition to knowing more about the game and possessing a level of skill the rest of us will never approach, none of these guys ever pay for their own drivers.

So guess who picks up the tab when manufacturers hire rocket scientists to design them ... metallurgists to stretch titanium across a clubface to the depth of a sheet of paper ... engineers to add adjustable-weight screws on the bottom ... pros to stitch the company's name and logo on the bag ... and a pricey advertising agency to market them to our deepest-seated insecurities?

Right.

And now you get the privilege of paying for two, which go for $400 or more at retail.

Each.

So put the kids in the car, drive them down to the local pro shop and see what they bring at trade-in. And then blame it all on Mickelson.

Because when someone asked afterward whether he would advocate everyone going out and putting two of them in the bag, Mickelson just laughed and said, "Well, if they are the proper brand."