By Alan Blondin - ablondin@thesunnews.com
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
Phil Mickelson, in his first event since winning his third green jacket at the Masters three weeks ago, withdrew from the Wells Fargo Championship pro-am Wednesday afternoon due to an illness.
Mickelson had an apparent virus and withdrew after playing five holes. He received treatment for dehydration at an on-course medical center and was headed to a hospital Wednesday afternoon to receive intravenous fluids and any other medical treatment necessary. Mickelson intends to play today, according to his spokesman T.R. Reinman.
Phil Mickelson looks on from the sixth tee during Wednesday's pro-am at Quail Hollow Club. Mickelson withdrew from the event before teeing off on the sixth hole due to an illness.
The world's No. 2 player spent much of Tuesday night vomiting, sweating and shaking but thought he had overcome whatever illness had struck him. But he started to feel ill again shortly after teeing off in the pro-am at 1 p.m., and left Quail Hollow Club to head to a hospital around 2:30 p.m. "I don't know if it's the fluor food poisoning or what," said Mickelson's long-time caddie, Jim 'Bones' Mackay.
Asked if Mickelson would be able to make his 12:50 p.m. tee time, Mackay said, "I don't know. He's a tough guy so if he can possibly play he will."
Mickelson hopes he responds to dehydration the way he did at the 2009 World Golf Championships-CA Championship, where he was treated with IVs Saturday night and won the tournament Sunday.
Going low in the Hollow
Shooting the lowest individual score in the Wells Fargo Championship pro-am doesn't win you anything, but it can't hurt the confidence.
Myrtle Beach resident Dustin Johnson birdied eight of his final 13 holes without a bogey at Quail Hollow Club to shoot an 8-under 64, the lowest recorded score among 52 pros Wednesday.
"Obviously it's a little different on Wednesday than it is on Thursday, but it definitely gives me confidence," Johnson said. "It's definitely a sign I'm hitting it well. I still missed a couple putts but they weren't bad putts, just a little bit of a misread here or there. Overall I made a couple good putts. I feel good, I have confidence in my game."
The 8-under run began with a chip-in on the sixth hole and ended with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th. Johnson even missed a 4-foot eagle putt on the seventh hole.
"This is a good golf course for me," Johnson said. "It's pretty long and if you drive it well - which I've been driving it really well - you can make some good scores out here."
Short game and putting woes kept Johnson from contending in his last start at the Masters, where he tied 38th, and he worked on correcting flaws in those areas over the past couple weeks.
"I've been working hard on the putter," Johnson said. "My stroke never felt bad, something was just a little bit off, and it was my setup. My setup was a little off so I wasn't real comfortable over the putter, so I wasn't really hitting the ball where I was looking. The putter has definitely gotten better over the last couple weeks."
Tar Heel endorsement
Johnson played Wednesday with University of North Carolina football coach Butch Davis, who has played in enough pro-ams to have an eye for golf talent as well as football talent.
"It was unbelievable just to play with him and watch him and you just realize how gifted he is and how talented he is," Davis said. "When he caught fire, he just lit it up. He's got unbelievable length. The surprising thing is how great he is around the green. He's got a great short game and putts real well."
Davis has played in numerous pro-ams during his coaching stints with the University of Miami and Dallas Cowboys, and he's played with Ernie Els, Fred Couples and Raymond Floyd, to name a few.
"Dustin is every bit as talented as any of those guys," Davis said. "He's quite a player."
Going, going, gone
The Wells Fargo Championship sold out as of Saturday, which means about 35,000 tickets have been sold for each competitive round. The event has sold out in seven of its eight years, with the exception being 1999.
"It has always been our goal to create a memorable golf experience for all of those who purchase our tickets, and we have found that 35,000 people a day is a manageable number," said Kym Hougham, executive director of the tournament.