It would seem unfathomable for Phil Mickelson to be left out of the discussion at the very event he so improbably won last yearGetty Images
CBS and ESPN will “cover more than 250 hours of live coverage” from the PGA Championship at Southern Hills, but the bigger question is “whether Phil Mickelson‘s name will surface,” according to James Colgan of GOLF.com. It would “seem unfathomable" for Mickelson to "find himself left out of the discussion" at the very event he so improbably won just 12 months ago. It was just two years ago at the PGA that Mickelson himself was “invited into the CBS booth as a guest commentator.” In April, Mickelson “withdrew from the Masters.” He was “persona non grata on CBS and ESPN’s broadcasts" from that event and was "forgotten for the overwhelming majority of television coverage during tournament week." Employees from both ESPN and CBS “seemed reticent to discuss Phil, even when asked directly about him.” It is an “odd dichotomy” for the reigning winner of one of golf’s major championships to face: "simultaneously the story of the tournament, but perhaps not relevant enough to wind up on the television broadcast of it.” Two networks, two production teams and two sets of broadcasters “will face that decision independently.” There also are “other factors to consider.” One is the sponsors and rightsholders who may very well "have opinions about Mickelson’s inclusion in event coverage." Another is a “cold reality of golf television: It’s hard to find time for players who aren’t there” (GOLF.com, 5/17).
