On the US Tour, the final round of the Bellsouth Classic was washed out by torrential rain yesterday. 54-holes leaders Phil Mickelson and Gary Nicklaus contested a sudden death play-off for the title which Mickelson won with a birdie at the first. Nicklaus, the son of the Golden Bear Jack, has up to now always just been that, 'the son of Jack', but his performance over the weekend has lifted him to new heights. Unfortunately he did not do enough for victory as Mickelson birdied the first extra hole in a play-off, after the pair had finished on 11-under-par.
In February the 29-year-old left-hander denied Tiger Woods a seventh straight victory on the US Tour and is now ranked 12th in the World. Now he is turning his sights to winning his first major next Sunday and he says, "I think I am ready."
For many years the Californian has been one of the players - Colin Montgomerie is another - to vie for the unwanted tag of best current player not to win a major. Second to the late Payne Stewart in last year's US Open and with eight other top 10 finishes behind him - three of them in the Masters - Mickelson believes he has served his apprenticeship and more.
