Siblings Of Familiar Golfers Are Contenders

Tim Mickelson of San Diego never trailed in winning his first-round match. Being Phil's younger brother never gets old, he says. (Steve Gibbons/U.S. Golf Association)

Bandon, Ore. – Three 2007 Mid-Amateur contestants would have difficulty beating their brothers in a golf match but don’t count them out here at Bandon Dunes. 

The surnames of Mickelson, Byrd and Lehman are recognizable names in golf circles. But if you replaced Phil with Tim, Jonathan with Jordan, and Tom with Jim, you’d have three players who have advanced to match play.

On Monday, Tim Mickelson, 30, the head golf coach at the University of San Diego, defeated Dan Horner of Salt Lake City, Utah, 4 and 3; Jordan Byrd, 31, the assistant golf coach at Clemson, knocked off 2006 USGA Senior Amateur runner-up Tom McGraw of Montgomery, Texas, 4 and 2; and Jim Lehman of Minneapolis, Minn., 49, was 1 up in his match when play was suspended because of darkness.

Mickelson takes his brother’s cache as a complement and deals with it accordingly.

“I get it everyday whether I’m on the golf course or using my credit card,” said Tim, who is playing in his fourth USGA championship. “(Phil’s) so popular now, I get it all the time. He’s a great brother so it’s not a big deal to me.”

The two Mickelsons get together in the San Diego area to play golf about a dozen times a year.

Which part of Tim’s game is better than Phil’s? According to the younger Mickelson, without a doubt, it is driving. “He’ll admit it,” Tim says. “The only thing that he’s by far better than me at is wedges from 50 to 110 yards.”

Tim, a 1999 Oregon State graduate, was the runner-up at 2000 Pac 10 Championship. That year, he advanced to the semifinals of the Pacific Northwest Amateur at Bandon Dunes, where he lost to current PGA Tour player Jeff Quinney.

“I had never played here when I was at school,” Mickelson said. “But, I have some good thoughts about match play here.”

The elder Byrd, who was the Southern Conference champion in 1997 at Furman, advanced to match play in his first Mid-Amateur last year. A past high school state runner-up in wrestling, Byrd phoned his brother before the match.

“He gave me some good advice on how to handle these long days,” Jordan said. “So, I made sure I ate enough food.”

Byrd, who has been assistant coach at Clemson since 2005, has been on the receiving end of golf tips from his brother as well.

“He doesn’t have too many weaknesses,” Byrd said of Jonathan, a three-time winner on Tour. “Recently, he’s been incredible with his putter. I am usually long (distance) for a Mid-Am but not like him. He’s helped me with putting, which has been a weakness for me.”

The Byrds connect either at Sea Island, Ga., where Jonathan lives or for golf and Clemson football games in South Carolina. The upcoming Clemson-Virginia Tech and Clemson-Boston College games will put the Byrd brothers together.

A bonus comes because Jonathan brings former Clemson teammates and current PGA Tour players Lucas Glover and Charles Howell III with him for golf with the Clemson varsity.

Those golf gatherings, however, pale in Jordan’s mind to one particular golf match-up.

“When we play it’s almost like a major for me,” Jordan said. “I get to play against a guy who has won three Tour events. He’s kind of shutting it down for the year and, I’ve had the best of him lately. He’s usually out there practicing but it’s a big deal to me.”

Jim Lehman, who works for SFX golf, is playing in his third consecutive Mid-Amateur and fifth overall. He also made match play in 2006. Tom, who was in the final Sunday pairing in three consecutive U.S. Opens (1995, 1996, 1997) also won the British Open in 1996. His other brother, Michael, played at the 1983 U.S. Junior. Jim was the runner-up in the 2007 Trans-Miss.

Boy, the way Glenn Miller played, songs that made the hit parade, guys like us we had it made, those were the days… – from the theme to the 1970s TV show All in the Family.

Story written by Pete Kowalski, USGA Media Relations. E-mail him with questions or comments at pkowalski@usga.org.