Our Prayers are with the Mickelson Family

I had just heard the news, and it brought me back to a time 4 years ago, when my mother passed away after a year long battle with cancer. It is nothing I would wish on my worst enemy. I want to let the family know my family's prayers are Amy, Phil, and their whole family.

I also think Phil is a classy guy for stepping aside from the tour, it's the right thing to do, and confirms of what I thought Phil was like. He is a golf Ambassordor and now maybe, God willing, will help raise awareness and lets find a cure cure for Cancer!




Phil Mickelson's wife, Amy, has been diagnosed with breast cancer, and the three-time major champion said Wednesday he will suspend his PGA TOUR schedule indefinitely.

According to a release from Mickelson's management company, his wife was to have more tests but begin treatment with major surgery as early as the next two weeks.

"We are saddened by the news of Amy Mickelson's diagnosis but are hopeful that with the support of Phil and her family and friends, she will come through this difficult time," PGA TOUR commissioner Tim Finchem said. "The thoughts and prayers of everyone connected with the PGA TOUR are with the Mickelson family."
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Amy and Phil at a Lakers game last week.
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Amy and Phil Mickelson at a Lakers playoff game last week.
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Amy and Phil through the years
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Amy, Phil at Start Smart charity

Mickelson, the third-ranked player in the FedExCup standings and the No. 2 player in the world with 36 career PGA TOUR victories, was to play the HP Byron Nelson Championship this week before defending his title next week at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

According to HP Byron Nelson tournament director Charley Spradley, Mickelson was in the Dallas area, preparing for this week's event, when he received the news.

"I'm not disappointed," Spradley said when asked about not having Mickelson in this week's field. "I'm encouraged by his decision. You guys know this: We're all about kids and families, and we would have made exactly the decision that he did, I hope. ... It's news that would cause us all to have proper concern for Phil, Amy, his wife, and their extended family, and that's where our concern lies."

Dallas native Scott Verplank, who played on two Ryder Cup teams and two Presidents Cup teams with Mickelson, said he received a text message from Mickelson on Tuesday night with the news.

"I think several of us got a text last night, but I got one at about 10 o'clock, and I had a hard time sleeping, just thinking about that," Verplank said. "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. You know, hopefully it's early and hopefully they take care of it."

It was not certain if Mickelson would return in time for the U.S. Open on June 18-21 at Bethpage Black in New York, where he was a runner-up to Tiger Woods in 2002 and is beloved by golf fans in the New York area.

"Elin and I are deeply saddened to hear the news about Amy," Woods said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with her, Phil, the children and the entire Mickelson family."

Mickelson has already won twice in 2009. He has three other top-10 finishes, including a tie for fifth at the Masters. Mickelson's first TOUR win this year came at the Northern Trust Open where he successfully defended his title. He won his first World Golf Championships title at the CA Championship at Doral, outlasting Nick Watney for the title.

Amy Mickelson is among the most visible wives on the PGA TOUR, a former Phoenix Suns cheerleader who regularly walks during the rounds and mingles easily with the gallery. She was waiting with their three children by the 18th green at Augusta National in 2004 when Mickelson won his first major, and at Winged Foot in 2006 at the U.S. Open, his most crushing loss in a major.

One of the photos in the clubhouse at the HP Byron Nelson Championship is Mickelson walking with Amy when they were engaged in 1996 and Mickelson won the tournament.

The Phil and Amy Mickelson Charitable Foundation has been involved in several causes, including multiple contributions of $250,000 in continued support of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, as well as the Start Smart program that provides needy youngsters clothes and school supplies each year.

They met in 1992 when Mickelson was a senior at Arizona State, a year after he won his first PGA TOUR event as an amateur. Amy knew nothing about golf at the time.

"I grew up in a tennis family, and when he told me he was a pro golfer, I thought he worked in the shop at a golf course," she wrote in Mickelson's book, "One Magical Sunday," after he won his first major at the 2004 Masters.

They were married in 1996 and have three children: Amanda, 9, Sophia, 7, and Evan, 6. Their first child was born the day after the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2., where Mickelson carried a pager and promised to leave if his wife went into labor.

Contractions began on Sunday, but she decided not to tell Mickelson as he tried to win his first major. He lost by one stroke when Payne Stewart holed a 15-foot par putt on the final hole, and Mickelson arrived home in time for the birth.

Sarah Strange, a breast cancer survivor and wife of former Ryder Cup captain Curtis Strange, said Amy Mickelson's ongoing personality would play a big part in her recovery.

"She's such an upbeat person, and I think she'll approach this in the same way, moving forward with confidence," Sarah Strange said. "I'm sure she's getting the best treatment they can find. An upbeat attitude plays such a key role in this, her own and those around her. I'll certainly be extending any experiences I've had, any questions she could ask me to keep upbeat.

"She was so supportive of me being a captain's wife," she said. "In return, she will feel that support from others."

TOUR pro Chad Campbell said his caddie's mother has fought breast cancer "and beat it so far, and my mother-in-law has had it. I think she's had it on two separate occasions, possibly even three, I can't remember for sure. But you know, it's just really tough. You feel for them, and it's a tough time. Hopefully they can get it all figured out."

The news was quick to reach Europe, where John Daly is playing in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

"That is so sad," Daly said. "She's a great girl. My prayers are out to her and Phil. Hopefully, everything goes well."