[EdZ]

In 1996, in the final round, I was standing at the tee of the 17th. Phil Mickelson came up from 16 and you could see that 'look' in his eyes. He was in the zone, and if I recall, at that point still 'in it', since Norman was starting to slide.

He had a short wait, took a cup of water from the cooler, and after taking a sip, tossed it towards the trash can, which he missed.

Not only did he miss, but he caught the lip of the can and the water left in the cup, a fair amount, flew all over me. Unfortunately for Phil, this 'clicked' him right out of the 'zone'. He came over and appologized, but afterwards I could see he had lost his intense focus. He went on to miss his drive (and if I recall bogey the hole). He finished 3rd, one shot behind a choking Norman in second.

Staying in the zone, hitting that simple underhand toss into the trash, might have gotten him a second rather than a third.

Of course Faldo went on to shoot a great round, but at the time, things were much closer.

Glad to see phil take it last year, in such an exciting fashion.

The moral of the story - master the underhanded toss, it just might keep you in the 'zone'