There's just something about Phil - Mickelson, that is - that you've got to love. Really. After all, few players would have the guts to change clubs and the brand of ball they play in the run-up to golf's greatest show, but that's precisely what he's done ahead of the 35th Ryder Cup. Sometimes, it's hard to get inside a golfer's head. In Mickelson's case, it's impossible.

So, the Titleist driver and fairway woods that were good enough to win the US Masters have been ditched in favour of new Callaways, although - for now - he has decided not to change irons.

The irony is this. When Tiger Woods changed from Titleist to Nike a couple of years ago, Mickelson remarked at the time that "Tiger's the only one good enough to overcome the equipment he's stuck with."

Not surprisingly, Nike responded by hitting back at Mickelson, who was forced to apologise, while Woods observed: "Phil can try and be a smart aleck at times, we all know that. I think that was one of those instances where it backfired on him. It was Phil being Phil, again."

Now, the shoe is on the other foot, so to speak. Mickelson, who used his new clubs for the first time last week at the Canadian Open, where he included rounds of 75 and 79 over the four days before finishing tied-57th, is the player defending his decision to change equipment, although his observation that "it was in the best interests of the team that I do this now" beggared belief.

Anyway, Mickelson, playing in his fifth Ryder Cup, but who has enjoyed success on only one occasion, at Brookline in 1999, denied the abrupt equipment change, believed to be quite lucrative, indicated any lack of desire vis a vis the Ryder Cup.

"I've been looking forward to this event for a long time," he said. "I don't know how to get into it other than to say that I feel that I am most confident in my ability to score lowest just now . . . it's (because of) the ball I'm playing and the woods I'm playing.

"I didn't make a change with the irons because of exactly that concern, the distance controls and so forth, because I didn't have enough time to factor that in.

"But the technicians at Callaway gave me a driver in their very first make-up and they said, 'this is what you're playing', and I couldn't tell the difference, only it went a few miles an hour faster off the face and the little cut shot that I've been hitting all year was very easy to hit. I've been hitting fairways fairly easily with it.

"The biggest concern I thought would have been the ball, but I'm so excited about this ball. There's no change from the most critical area, from 150 yards in, as far as the softness and performance is concerned.

"So, for me to play my best, I need to be excited about what I have. I am, and I think that will ultimately be best for the team if I can win points."

Of course, much of what the new, more conservative Mickelson has done and said so far this season has worked out the way he envisaged. Apart from his win in the Masters, Mickelson, who has moved from 15th to fourth in the world rankings this season, was runner-up at the US Open, third at the British Open and sixth at the US PGA after preparing meticulously for each event.

This time, there were no advance visits; but he did play a practice round that took almost seven-and-a-half hours on Monday, as he pondered each possible pin placement on each green.

"I feel like I'm ready for every pin position that's possible, how I want to attack it and so forth," he said.

Mickelson also claimed his more tempered approach on the course will make him a better foursomes partner this time round.

While Mickelson has been used eight times in fourballs in his previous Ryder Cups, he has played only four foursomes, winning one, losing one and halving two. "I think I've become a more effective alternate shot player because I'm able to hit a softer drive in the fairway. This course sets up for a lot of right-to-left shots, which is great for me because I can cut it and get the ball to stop running and stay in the fairway," he added.

Also, the comparisons with the final day of a major have not been lost on him.

"It's not as though you have three more rounds to catch up. You feel the importance of each point, so I think the feeling has been very similar for me as in the last three or four holes of a major coming down the stretch when you're at the lead or within a shot or two," he claimed.

Mickelson, for one, hasn't been fooled into believing that the Europeans should be considered underdogs. "I've never considered them to be underdogs, they always bring their best game out," said Mickelson.

"They've got guys that are winning, and their overall team is extremely sharp. We are going to have our hands full. I think it's a very evenly matched Ryder Cup this year."