Jim McCabe

Ladies and gentlemen, the No. 1 golfer in the world, Mr. Phil Mickelson.

Sounds bizarre, doesn’t it? It sure does, and for good reason, too, because while he’s racked up 34 victories, three of them majors, and been consistently so splendid with wins in 14 of his 17 PGA Tour seasons, Mickelson has never been the No. 1 golfer in the world.

He isn’t now, either — unless, of course, you qualify it by adding — "of those who aren’t sidelined with a knee injury."

Of all the byproducts to the news that Tiger Woods would sit out the rest of 2008 to have reconstructive surgery to his left anterior cruciate ligament, here is one that hits at the competitive landscape: No one may be under more pressure than Mickelson.

Clearly the No. 2 player in the world rankings, Mickelson may inherit titles that never have been associated with him — "favorite" and "team leader." Whenever Woods was in town, those terms were automatically directed toward him, but you can’t leave them vacant. That’s not how our sports landscape works. Someone has to be judged to be a favorite and more people than before will be inclined to turn the spotlight on Mickelson.

Ditto for "team leader," a reference to the Ryder Cup matches in September. Though Woods' Ryder Cup experience is hardly a mark worth raving about — teams on which he played have gone 1-4 — never has anyone suggested he wasn't the guy around whom the captain built his lineup. Skeptics will forever insist that Woods' less-than-dominant record in the team events proves he doesn't get into the affairs, but if you talk to his teammates, they'll say the opposite — that he does care, that he does put in the work, that he does lead by example.

I put stock in those opinions and also in the viewpoints of those captains who've led the U.S. teams in 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, and 2006, the years in which Woods has played for the red, white, and blue. Every time they asked Woods to play, he played. Every time they asked him to take on a new partner, he took on a new partner. Every time they asked him to practice, he practiced. The poor record has never been a reflection of Woods' commitment to the event, but for this time around, all that focus will fall on Mickelson.

"Let’s see how he handles it,” said one former Ryder Cup captain. "It should be interesting."

Mickelson has been one marquee player who seemingly has relished the chance to challenge Woods, fruitless as that has been on most occasions. But it's going to be easy to connect the dots and surmise that Mickelson's chance to win a British Open or a second PGA Championship is enhanced greatly by Woods' absence.

Yes, the same holds true for Adam Scott, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, and other world-class names, but the guess is, the public will focus more on what the lefthander does while Woods sits things out.

For years, Mickelson bristled when asked about that sorriest cliché of clichés — the best player never to have won a major — but once he learned to embrace it and parlay that into a connection to fans who love the underdog, the lefthander seemed to handle major championships better. Next thing he knew, he won the Masters, then a PGA Championship, then another Masters. Lo and behold, he went from the hard-luck bridesmaid to a guy people thought could win and guess what? That hasn't been an easy transition, because since winning the 2006 Masters, Mickelson has not performed very well in the majors.

Some will suggest that's because the expectations were suddenly raised several notches and Mickelson put more pressure on himself to do well in majors. If that's the case, good luck, because with Woods handling the TV clicker, Mickelson must handle the role of favorite and team leader, so the pressure will be even more intense.

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