PHIL MICKELSON SUSPENDS SEASON AFTER WIFE IS DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER
Phil Mickelson has suspended his season indefinitely after his wife, Amy, was diagnosed with breast cancer, it was announced Wednesday morning.
The couple married in 1996 and have three children, aged nine, seven and six.
Mickelson was due to play the HP Byron Nelson Championship in Dallas beginning Thursday and defend his Crown Plaza Invitational at Colonial in Fort Worth next week. There was no word on whether Mickelson will miss next month's U.S. Open at Bethpage but at this point, his participation would have to be considered a long shot.
Several players competing in the Byron Nelson Championship got text messages from Mickelson Tuesday night.
"I got one at about 10 o'clock, and I had a hard time sleeping, just thinking about that," said Scott Verplank. "My wife was already asleep next to me there, so when I woke up this morning she woke up for a minute, so I told her. So I think she's probably worried about it now.
"Every time I've been around her she's always got a smile on her face," Verplank said. "She's always upbeat, much like Phil. We've been over to their house to have dinner and spent some dinners on the road at these (Ryder and Presidents) Cup things. She's a neat girl."
This isn't the first time breast cancer has hit the pro golf circuit hard. Darren Clarke's wife, Heather, died after a four-year battle six weeks before the 2006 Ryder Cup. Clarke went on to be one of Europe's heroes that week and cried afterwards for 15 minutes. European captain Ian Woosnam dedicated the victory to Heather at the presentation.
Earlier that year, Padraig Harrington donated his winnings at the PGA to breast cancer research in Clarke's behalf.
During the week, Clarke noted how the American team and their wives had been especially supportive.
On Monday, former LPGA star Val Skinner held her 10th annual LIFE Event at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., where 28 LPGA pros helped raise another $500,000 in a Pro Am. Skinner lost her close friend and fellow LPGA player Heather Farr to breast cancer in 1993.
"I got news for you. If it wasn't for the toilet, there would be no books." --- George Costanza.
