Alan Shipnuck's Live-Tweet from Torrey Reveals a New Physique for Phil Mickelson

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Sports Illustrated Senior Writer, Golf.com columnist and Author, Alan Shipnuck... at Torrey Pines for a Phil Mickelson stalk-a-thon to cover the Farmers Insurance Open... was kind enough to live-tweet this morning's press conference.

Not surprisingly, he did a stellar job. And because some of us were already glued to our Twitter clients for the Apple iPad Intro, the timing couldn't have been better.

@AlanShipnuck's timely Tweets arrived at well-spaced 1 minute intervals and presented the presser in succinct snippets of 140 characters or less.

We learned that Phil feels okay about playing Ping Eye2s... and that he's playing a ball with more spin so has moved down to a 6 degree driver. We also found out that (for family reasons) he'll skip the WGC Match Play but will add a later tournament in its place. The inevitable and much anticipated, "What's your take on Tiger?" was put to rest in one elegant tweet.

Bottom line: with the right reporter present a live-tweeted press conference is an effective way to get up-to-the-minute news out to a busy, multi-tasking populace. BTW, I emphasise "the right reporter" because I myself have tried to live-tweet press conferences before without success. I tend to get distracted by the second or third question and forget I'm supposed to be live-tweeting.

My favorite @AlanShipnuck Tweet of the day concerned Mr. Mickelson's physical appearance, "My observation: Waistline looks pretty trim, biceps are a little brawnier." ~ You know what I'm thinking? This might just herald a return to the era of Phil Mickelson's white belt... and that's fine with me. to hell with rule 32.