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Phil Mickelson tries to put an end to Ryder Cup controversy: ‘I was totally in the wrong’

Phil Mickelson watches a tee shot during practice for the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National on Wednesday.
(Tannen Maury / EPA)
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Phil Mickelson brought back some bad feelings from the 2004 Ryder Cup on Wednesday when he criticized decisions made by then-U.S. captain Hal Sutton during a news conference as part of this year’s event.

By nighttime, with Sutton threatening to not take part in any Ryder Cup festivities the rest of this week at Hazeltine National in Chaska, Minn., because of those comments, Mickelson admitted he had gone too far.

“I was totally in the wrong,” Mickelson told Golf Digest on Wednesday night. “I never should have brought that up. I used an extreme example the way decisions can affect play, and I never should have done that because it affected Hal.”

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Following a 16½-11½ U.S. loss in the 2014 Ryder Cup — Mickelson’s eighth defeat in 10 tries at the event — the former world No. 1 golfer publicly slammed then-captain Tom Watson and eventually found himself on a task force charged with finding ways to improve the country’s showings against Team Europe.

Mickelson feels good about this year’s team, including the task force’s choice of captain, Davis Love III, and the fact that the players now have more say in decisions that affect the group. It wasn’t so back in 2004, Mickelson said Wednesday during the news conference.

Back then, Mickelson said, Sutton paired him with Tiger Woods on two days’ notice, leaving him little time to adjust to using Woods’ preferred golf ball.

“It forced me to stop my preparation for the tournament, to stop chipping and stop putting and stop sharpening my game and stop learning the golf course, in an effort to crash-course and learn a whole different golf ball that we were going to be playing,” Mickelson said.

Phil Mickelson, left, and Tiger Woods talk during opening ceremonies for the 2004 Ryder Cup.
Phil Mickelson, left, and Tiger Woods talk during opening ceremonies for the 2004 Ryder Cup.
(David Maxwell / EPA )

“And in the history of my career, I have never ball-tested two days prior to a major. I’ve never done it. It doesn’t allow me to play my best. Had we known a month in advance, we might have been able to make it work. I think we probably would have made it work. But we didn’t know until two days prior.”

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Mickelson and Woods lost both events in which they were paired, and the U.S. went down in flames, 18½ to 9½.

Mickelson said at Wednesday’s news conference he admired how decisive Sutton was, but added “that’s an example of starting with the captain, that put us in a position to fail and we failed monumentally, absolutely.”

Sutton was participating in an event with seven other former U.S. captains Wednesday at Minneapolis Golf Club, where he reacted to Mickelson’s comments.

“I mean, my God, somebody’s got to be the fall guy. If it needs to be me, I can do that. If he wants to put the blame on me, then let him do it,” Sutton told Golf Digest. “If I still need to shoulder the blame for Phil, I’ll do that.”

He added: “Do you think I had anything to do with how poorly he played that way? Y’all remember how bad it was. He hit a 3‑wood against the fence on the last hole. A 3‑wood. A 3‑wood. That’s the story y’all need to be writing.”

A PGA of America official told Golf Digest that Sutton was “hurt” and was considering leaving town. Mickelson reached out to Sutton via text and asked him to stay, Golf Digest reports.

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“I feel awful,” Mickelson said Wednesday night. “It was never meant to be like that, I was trying to use an example of how a captain can have a strong effect. Unfortunately it came across the way it did. I feel awful and I want him to be out here and be a part of this, so I’ve communicated with him that I’m sorry and I hope that he stays.”

charles.schilken@latimes.com

Twitter: @chewkiii

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