Phil Mickelson swings right-handed, tops it into water at TPC Sawgrass’ island hole

The Players Championship hypes itself as the season’s fifth major, and like the other four major championships, there are some traditions that have developed over the years at TPC Sawgrass. Pete Dye’s Stadium Course is best known for the island 17th hole, and during the practice rounds before Thursday, players often screw around and try different types of shots for the crowds assembled on the amphitheater-style hills surrounding the hole.

Phil Mickelson, who’s headlining this week with Tiger Woods gone, put on a bit of show Tuesday morning at the 17th tee. It’s become a tradition for Mickelson to take a swipe with a right-handed club, but this year’s result was not particularly impressive. Remember, Mickelson does almost everything but golf right-handed, as we witnessed at the end of last year when he was firing footballs all over the place during a Callaway commercial shoot. This attempt, however, wasn’t pretty as Mickelson topped one directly into the water (it looks like he almost misses the ball completely):

Duf’d it.

Mickelson was out with Rickie Fowler and Dustin Johnson, two guys he regularly plays practice loops with before tournaments begin. The gathering on the tee, which included the swing coach for all three guys, Butch Harmon, immediately started cracking on Phil and most of the crowd burst out laughing. He’d give it another try, and this one would at least get attractively airborne before diving into the water left of the green.

Dustin and Rickie also went left-handed with Phil’s sticks. Johnson hit two in the water, although in moderately less embarrassing fashion that Phil’s first duff. Rickie put his second ball safely up on the green. Here’s the view on the tee from Butchie’s son, Claude Harmon III:

The caddies also gave it a shot, but Bones Mackay and friends also put their tee shots in the drink. Fowler was the clear winner of this exhibition.

It’s not as well-known a tradition as skipping balls across the water during practice at Augusta, but this is a pretty cool way that Mickelson makes things interesting during Players week.