INCHEON, South Korea, Oct 6 (Reuters) - It has been a sub-par year by Phil Mickelson's own lofty standards, and some eyebrows were raised when he was selected for the Presidents Cup, but for U.S. skipper Jay Haas, the 45-year-old's experience and "intangibles" were hard to overlook.
Haas sprang something of a surprise by using a captain's pick on Mickelson last month, who was 30th in the Presidents Cup standings and had been viewed by many as a long shot after struggling for form for much of the past two years.
A captain's pick in the inaugural Presidents Cup in 1994, world number 23 Mickelson had played his way onto every U.