Mickelson an easy Presidents Cup pick for captain Haas

Perhaps this is Phil Mickelson getting a victory lap, a lifetime achievement award of sorts for all he has done in the game of golf.

Or maybe it's something more, a bit behind the scenes, inside the team room, so to speak.

Could Mickelson's pick to be part of the U.S. Presidents Cup team be a form of validation, a nod to what Lefty did last September at Gleneagles, when he shockingly spoke his mind and questioned the captaincy of Tom Watson, as well as the direction the PGA of America was going as it related to the Ryder Cup?

Mickelson took plenty of grief in the aftermath of that entire episode, but you didn't hear much, if anything, from those who were there as the Americans suffered another defeat at the hands of Europe, a third straight, and sixth out of the past seven.

The U.S. Ryder Cup system was eventually blown up, a Ryder Cup task force was formed, of which Mickelson is now part, along with Davis Love III (the 2016 captain), Steve Stricker, Rickie Fowler and Tiger Woods, along with past captains Raymond Floyd (a Watson assistant at Gleneagles) and Tom Lehman.

Perhaps it is just coincidence that Love and Stricker are assistant captains to Jay Haas for the U.S. Presidents Cup team that will take on an International squad next month in South Korea. Or that Fowler will be a significant member of the U.S. team.

Or that fellow Presidents Cup team members Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson,Jimmy Walker, Zach Johnson, Jim Furyk, Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar were also part of that team in Scotland, where things apparently didn't go so well behind the scenes, leading to what at best could be described as a tense situation that Mickelson brought to the forefront.

If Mickelson's stand in Scotland rubbed people the wrong way, it would have been easy to leave him at home and go a new direction, with younger players eager for the chance that this experience will bring. Mickelson was 30th in the points standings, the lowest of any player ever picked. He hasn't won in more than two years. Although he is ranked 23rd in the world, Mickelson doesn't have a top-10 finish since June.

And yet, Haas chose the five-time major winner, and made it sound as if it were not even a tough decision.

Mickelson, 45, will compete for the 21st consecutive time on a U.S. team, an undervalued accomplishment that speaks to his longevity and consistency. Mickelson has been part of every U.S. Presidents Cup team since the competition's inception in 1994, the only other time Mickelson has been a captain's pick, and Haas made it clear it was about far more than what Lefty can bring in terms of birdies.

"If anyone deserves a pick, it's Phil Mickelson," said Haas, who has been an assistant captain on previous Presidents Cup teams under Fred Couples. "He is without question the leader of our team in the team room, on the golf course. I think the guys trust him 100 percent.

"The guys on the team were adamant that Phil is the guy, and I think between the captains and team members, Phil was an overwhelming choice to be a pick. He is somebody who we all respect and look up to, and I look for him to be a leader like he has been in the past."

That doesn't mean Mickelson's pick isn't without controversy. And let's be honest, a team event that doesn't come close to capturing the attention and passion of the American public that the Ryder Cup does and that will be played 13 time zones away in the middle of the night can use Mickelson's star power.

Think back to when Couples selected Woods -- who was 29th in points -- in 2011, and made the pick known weeks in advance. Woods and Mickelson were picked as much for what they had done as what they will do.

Although there will be those who wonder about Haas picking his son, Bill, it is nonetheless difficult to argue with the fact that Jay's kid was 11th in the points. Almost any captain would have had a difficult time bypassing him.

The other choice, however, can clearly be debated. Nobody would have argued if Mickelson had been bypassed for, say, Brooks Koepka, who many believe will be on U.S. teams for years to come. Or for Billy Horschel, the reigning FedEx Cup champion whose enthusiasm could be viewed as huge asset.

Phil himself would have trouble quibbling with those guys, but if what Haas said is true about the assistants and other players wanting Mickelson to be on the team, that is a pretty strong endorsement.

"I know that Jay has gotten every player involved and has talked to the vice captains quite a bit; and the fact that the support came from the players and the vice captains means a lot to me," Mickelson said during a conference call. "And just as I am in everything I do, I'm very competitive and want us to do well, want us to win, want us to be the best we can be.

"I want to help out in any way I can, and I'm so happy that the players and the captains wanted me to be a part of this, because I love it and I think it's an important thing for our future in both Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup, and if it had something to do with it, I'm even more flattered."

For all the angst over Mickelson's Ryder Cup record -- he is 16-19-6 and only Furyk has lost more matches in U.S. Ryder Cup history -- he is also 5-2 in the past two Ryder Cups. It certainly wasn't Mickelson's fault the U.S. lost at Medinah, nor at Gleneagles -- where he went 2-1 and was benched for the entire second day.

At the Presidents Cup -- where the U.S. has an 8-1-1 record -- Mickelson is second to only Woods in matches won for the U.S. and has a 20-16-11 record. He is 5-3-1 in his past two Presidents Cups, both easy U.S. victories.

You can also argue that the format change from 34 to 30 matches will make it easier on Mickelson. There are no double sessions the first two days as is the case at the Ryder Cup, and you can bet that Mickelson will sit at least one of the Saturday sessions.

So was Phil picked for his past success? Quite possibly. Did his overall popularity and television draw play a role? It's reasonable to wonder. But don't discount what Mickelson did a year ago at Gleneagles, and in the weeks and months afterward.

This pick sets up as the ultimate payback.