As he marched down the 18th fairway on Sunday, en route to an historic PGA Championship, Phil Mickelson was mobbed by a mass of maskless golf fans. They shouted encouragement, patted him on the back and just lived up a moment to savor.
If there were any safety worries, they centered Phil getting knocked over, not breathed on.
“It was slightly unnerving,” said Mickelson, who was 200-to-1 to win at Kiawah Island, South Carolina, “but exceptionally awesome.”
About the same time, some 750 miles north, some 15,047 New York Knick fans crowded into Madison Square Garden where they would scream and stomp and bask in the ending of an eight-season playoff drought.