Phil Mickelson recently "came around to the idea" of joining social media, and yesterday "joined Twitter -- with plans to add Facebook and Instagram accounts as well," according to Bob Harig of ESPN.com. Yesterday was his first day on Twitter, and he "used the opportunity for some friendly banter with Tiger Woods" over their winner-take-all match later this year. Mickelson: "I've stayed off of social media, but after looking at it there is so much more good that far outweighs the bad." Harig notes in just one day, Mickelson's Twitter followers "climbed over 100,000." However, it is "unclear how much Mickelson will be active." He said, "It is directly from me but I'll go through a filter as a safety thing for me. I can easily get in trouble" (ESPN.com, 8/23). GOLFDIGEST.com's Christopher Powers noted Mickelson joining Twitter at first "seemed random," but fans "should have known that there's always, always a method" to Mickelson's madness (GOLFDIGEST.com, 8/22). GOLFWEEK's Kevin Casey: "We’re sure it is a total coincidence (*wink*)" (GOLFWEEK.com, 8/22).
BIRDIE HUNTING: Mickelson's third tweet yesterday was directed at Woods over the match: "@TigerWoods I bet you think this is the easiest $9M you will ever make😂," Woods responded: "Think you will earn some bragging rights? 🏆" The Action Network's Jason Sobel tweeted, "Tiger vs. Phil isn’t just official, but they’re also gonna smack-talk through social media? Yup, I’m in. For all of it. Like Tiger said: It’s on." SB Nation's Trevor Reaske: "Some PR dude is patting himself on the back pretty hard right now for getting Tiger and Phil to interact on Twitter." SB Nation's Brendan Porath: "How long was Phil’s meeting with counsel about the dangers of self-incrimination on Twitter?" (TWITTER.com, 8/23).
