Phil will have to look for other ways to bend rules as trusty wedge is kicked into touch by Tour chiefs

Phil Mickelson will have to look for new ways to stay ahead of the game after the controversial club he has been using was outlawed by golf officials.

Mickelson caused a stir during the Farmers Insurance Open at the end of January when he turned up with a 20-year-old Ping Eye 2 square-groove wedge in his bag, despite it not confirming to the new V-groove regulations for this season.

The world No.3 was allowed to swing away after finding a loophole in the law due to a lawsuit Ping won back in 1993, which
stated that clubs manufactured before April 1990 were legal.

That led to many of his peers on tour accusing Mickelson of cheating by playing with the Ping Eye 2 wedge.

“It’s cheating, and I’m appalled Phil has put it [the law] into play,” said Scott McCarron at the time.

The 2008 US Open runner-up Rocco Mediate added: “I don’t like it one bit, it’s against the spirit of the rule.”

The row continued to rumble on, but after talks with the US PGA Tour officials, club manufacturer Ping has agreed to drive the club out of bounds, from March 29.

It means Mickelson and the other Tour pros who may have it in their bag can still use the much-talked about club in this week’s WGC-CA Championship at Doral, Florida, but they will soon be bunkered.

The club will also be outlawed at the US Open in June, as even though it is a US Golf Association event, it is also recognised as an official event by the US and European tours. And US Tour chief Tim Finchem welcomed the move by the club manufacturer.

“John Solheim (Ping CEO) and Ping had a terrific opportunity to do something very positive and significant for the game of golf and we very much appreciate his willingness to take this action,” Finchem said.

Solheim said he believed the waiver “levels the playing field on the PGA Tour.”

Meanwhile, Soren Hansen is confident of a good performance on Doral’s Blue Monster course this week despite circumnavigating the globe to get to Miami after competing in the Malaysian Open.

Hansen finished third in Kuala Lumpur behind winner Noh Seung-yul and KJ Choi, and is ready for his Monster mission.

“It is a long trip to Miami from here,” said the Dane before facing a 14-hour flight to London and then an eight-hour flight to Miami.

“But it was a great week in Malaysia. I can take a lot of confidence heading into to Doral now and it is a venue that I have played well at in the past.”