CARMEL, Ind. – It’s rare when news comes out of a rain delay.
On this weather-plagued day at Crooked Stick there was big news. Huge news.
Phil Mickelson beat Matt Kuchar in table tennis.
Both had an afternoon tee time for the BMW Championship pro-am but nasty weather blew through the area and delayed their rounds by more than an hour. So Mickelson grabbed the paddles and challenged Kuchar to a “friendly” game.
Kuchar has long been considered the best American table tennis player. He rarely loses and has dominated the table during the last two U.S. team events – the 2010 Ryder Cup and the 2011 Presidents Cup.
Perhaps more shocking than the Kuchar defeat is the way it happened. Kuchar was leading 7-3, but Mickelson reeled off the next 8 consecutive points to win the match 11-7.
“I spanked him,” Mickelson said. “I can tell he’s reeling a little.”
The rules of the game changed over the last decade and it now takes only 11 points to win a game, not 21.
“I am not too happy about it,” Kuchar said. “If it was to 21, he wouldn’t stand a chance.”
Kuchar will be looking for a rematch this week. If he doesn’t get it now, he knows he’ll have plenty of time to settle the score with Mickelson later this month at the Ryder Cup.