Editor's Note: This column has been updated from Wednesday's original version.FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- His wife and kids won't be coming this time, the first sign that this will be a different U.S. Open for Phil Mickelson. Before he left his San Diego home on Tuesday, he and his family celebrated his 39th birthday with particular flair. His three children brought him breakfast in bed, and then, a little later, his wife asked him to open his presents.
Suddenly, while recalling this special day in the interview room at Bethpage Black, a scared husband and father became quite talkative about what his wife gave him. Breast cancer has a powerful, haunting way of tapping a man's deepest and most private emotions about the simplest matters, even as millions watch and listen and follow Amy's ordeal with considerable concern.




