PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. _ The familiar line about aging in golf is that the ball doesn't know how old you are. Your body does, certainly. And as in every sport the ultimate winner eventually proves to be Father Time.
Phil Mickelson turned 49 Sunday, and if the surroundings at Pebble Beach couldn't have been more perfect, the circumstances were less so.
As he played the U.S. Open at the same place he began as a pro more than a quarter century ago, fans were only too eager to greet him and sing "Happy Birthday."