Lucky tee for Phil? Fan hopes so

JIM Mahoney parted with a tiny piece of US Open history with hopes it could change Phil Mickelson’s luck.

It was a broken tee in a plastic bag.

“A souvenir that money can’t buy,” Mahoney said in a telephone interview from his home in Connecticut.

Mahoney brought the tee to the Deutsche Bank Championship, along with a letter explaining the circumstances around it. This was the last tee Mickelson used at Winged Foot in the 2006 US Open. His drive sailed far to the left on the 18th hole, like so many of his tee shots that Sunday, and caromed off a tent. From there, Lefty made double bogey and finished one shot behind.

The US Open remains the only major keeping him from the career Grand Slam. Winged Foot haunts him more than his other five runner-up finishes.

“I was on the tee at Winged Foot, me and a friend of mine,” Mahoney said. “Phil got out his driver and was bouncing the ball off the face. Phil looked over to the 17th green and there’s a scoreboard. It showed that (Colin) Montgomerie had just double bogeyed the 18th. His whole demeanor changed. But he hits this horrendous slice.”

Thousands of fans who had crowded around the tee box took off down the sides of the fairway. Mahoney and his friend walked across the teeing ground.

“We’re the only ones there. The marshals gave up,” he said. “They were the last group to hit. And there’s Phil’s tee.”

Even after it was over, Mahoney’s said his friends told him he should put the tee on a plaque. Instead, he stored it in a drawer. He wanted Mickelson to win that day, as did half of New York. He roots for him at every major.

Mahoney approached Mickelson’s caddie during the pro-am at the Deutsche Bank Championship in September. He simply handed him the broken tee and the letter.

“I will trade the tee for a photo-op,” said the letter, addressed to Mickelson and Jim “Bones” MacKay. “You can make peace with it and win the Open in 2015. Good luck.”

MacKay was looking for Mahoney after the round for the photo. He never found him. AP