Phil Mickelson
Lefty's raw talent — not his 'Tigerized' swing — gives him an edge

By Brady Riggs, Top 100 Teacher

Much has been made of Phil Mickelson's coaching switch to Butch Harmon in 2007, and it's no coincidence that Harmon has tried to "Tigerize" Phil's swing. Mickelson now reaches the top in a way that's eerily similar to Woods (whose swing is shown reversed here for easy comparison). Unfortunately, Phil's downswing is still what most instructors would call "a work in progress." His problems in successfully closing out tournaments (something Tiger does very well) are well documented, and almost always involve inconsistency off the tee.

There are dozens of players who swing the club better than Mickelson from a technical standpoint, but there's still a lot you can learn from his technique. However, until he removes the errors that require him to make compensations, he'll need his raw talent, competitiveness and short game to stay near the top.