Martin Dempster: Phil Mickelson needs to get a grip after '˜greedy' photo

Phil Mickelson may have earned bragging rights, as well as, of course, $9 million, after beating Tiger Woods in 'The Match' in Las Vegas, but it was another week in 2018 that suggested 'Lefty' has lost the plot.

Phil Mickelson with the pot ahead of his match with Tiger Woods.

Quite simply, Mickelson should be downright embarrassed about the photograph of him looking positively greedy as he posed with the pile of money that was up for grabs at Shadow Creek Golf Club, the one of Woods being made to look almost acceptable in comparison.

I’ve got no axe to grind with Mickelson. In fact, it’s been a joy to watch him come to Scotland over the past couple of decades and was enjoyable reporting on his back-to-back wins in the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open at Castle Stuart and Open Championship at Muirfield in 2013.

However, what we’ve seen from him this season, starting with his shocking behaviour as he hit a moving ball during the US Open at Shinnecock Hills and his bullishness afterwards over that “putt-gate” controversy, has been very disappointing indeed from one of the game’s best-known players. He also blotted his copybook with a stinging criticism of the Ryder Cup course in France despite praising it in the build up to the match. That, of course, came after the star-studded US team suffered a hammering and Mickelson failed to record a single point. At least Jim Furyk was spared the blame for that on this occasion, unlike poor old Tom Watson at 
Gleneagles in 2014.

This year has also seen Mickelson showing off his dance moves in a commercial and doing random high-kicks over someone in a video that went viral on social media. Get a grip, Phil. You can still be one of the best in the world to watch, so cut out all the nonsense and start behaving how a 48-year-old with five majors to his name should.