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September 23, 2016

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Johnson: Don’t pair me with Lefty at Ryder

DUSTIN Johnson says he does not want to partner United States teammate Phil Mickelson at next week’s Ryder Cup in Minnesota.

Throwing diplomacy out of the window, the long-hitting Johnson on Wednesday made clear his thoughts regarding Mickelson, who is a five-time major champion.

“I think I can partner pretty well with pretty much anyone, except for Phil,” world No. 2 Johnson said on the eve of the Tour Championship in Atlanta.

“Me and Phil don’t partner well together,” added Johnson, in what amounted to a public plea to US Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III.

US Open champion Johnson made it clear he has no personal issue with Mickelson, with whom he regularly plays practice rounds.

“We play well against each other,” said Johnson. “I love Phil and we’re great friends but we have a lot more fun when we’re playing against each other than when we’re partners.”

Johnson’s antipathy to partnering Mickelson stretches back to the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in Wales, when the two were paired for the opening-day foursomes and fourballs.

They lost both matches 3&2.

Left-hander Mickelson famously also had a nightmare partnership with Tiger Woods at the 2004 Ryder Cup.

They were arguably the best two players in the world at the time, and US captain Hal Sutton thought they would be invincible together.

But that proved to be a terrible decision, as Woods and Mickelson lost both of their first-day matches. They have not been paired since.

Mickelson has a 16-19-6 (win-loss-halve) record from 10 Ryder Cups, while Johnson is 4-3-0 after two.

The American and European players will gather at Hazeltine National in Chaska, Minnesota, next week for the biennial showdown.




 

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