Let's face it: This dude is a ringer for Mickelson
MacGillivray gets a thrill from winning contest, appearing in commercial, meeting Lefty
- Photo: Bluffton resident Mark MacGillivray, doing his best imitation ...
Jonathan Dyer/The Island Packet
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Since the Verizon Heritage staged its first PGA Tour event here nearly 40 years ago, Lowcountry residents have always had a special relationship with the golfers that compete at Harbour Town Golf Links.
And while everyone has their favorite, there's no arguing the importance these golfers have played on the sporting landscape of our little corner of the East Coast.
For his part, Phil Mickelson (and wife Amy, of course) was among the most popular and most followed players when his schedule annually included the Heritage. While Mickelson hasn't visited Hilton Head the week after The Masters in quite some time, one local resident enjoys a connection with Lefty that goes far beyond being a rooting member of his gallery.
If you weren't really paying attention and you ran into Bluffton resident Mark MacGillivray you could easily mistake him for Phil Mickelson. And if you happen to be around Mark when he went into one of his Mickelson impressions, you might be convinced you were in Lefty's presence. From the way he stalks his putts, to the gestures when they fall and even in the sheepish, awe shucks grins, MacGillivray has Phil's mannerism stone cold down.
- Photo: of Phil Mickelson.
The Associated Press
"I'm not a left-handed golfer," said MacGillivray, a scratch golfer in his own right. "I guess I just have the mannerism a little bit more than the straight look-alike. I don't do it on purpose (most of the time) it's just something people tell me all the time."
Don't misunderstand; Mark is not one of those lifetime look-alikes that try to gain fame and favors based on his likeness to a celebrity. To the contrary, MacGillivray would much rather keep his Phil likeness and impression to his closest inner circle of family and friends. He doesn't fool people into thinking he is Lefty, rather he entertains those lucky enough to be around when he decides to channel him.
"I've never wanted to be some look-alike that travels across the country doing impressions like some circus clown," said Mark, a vice president and mortgage loan officer at Bank of America. "Just around the golf course I'll ham it up and do the impressions a little bit."
So, why then am I writing about MacGillivray and his Phil persona?
Because Mark's likeness to Lefty, his deft impression of him and a little bit of good fortune all conspired to find the Colleton River resident clear across the country last month shooting a commercial with one of golf's most likeable professionals.
Acting on the suggestion of a client, MacGillivray entered Crowne Plaza's "A Meeting With Phil" contest, submitting a video of him impersonating Lefty on the golf course. The contest, which will culminate in a series of six "A Meeting With Phil" commercials, sought every-day golfers that in one way or another had a tie to Phil. Categories included people struck by a Mickelson tee ball, the next great player, left-handed golfers and Mickelson look-alikes. Almost on a whim, MacGillivray entered the later of the categories with little or no expectations it would lead to a part in two of the six national commercial spots.
Having watched the video, it really is spot on to Mickelson's mannerisms, and that, coupled with the similar features between the two, led the producers of the commercials to invite MacGillivray out to Las Angeles for a casting call.
MacGillivray and his wife, Heather, headed out to Las Angeles, where he found 20 or so other Phil look-alikes all competing for a place in the commercial. There was only room for four in the commercial, and Mark left the West Coast grateful for the opportunity but expecting nothing more.
To his surprise, several days later MacGillivray got the call that he had indeed been chosen to appear in the ads with his favorite golfer, and four days later he was off to the West Coast again, this time to San Diego to shoot the spots.
What was once an impression for fun had turned into an opportunity not only to co-star in a pair of national commercial but to do so with one of the most popular players on the PGA Tour. Mark and Heather would meet Mickelson on the first day of shooting in San Diego, and their longtime impressions of Lefty would be immediately confirmed.
"It was a real honor to be there and meet Phil," MacGillivray said. "We've always been fans of Phil Mickelson so it was cool to meet him. He had a great sense of humor and was really self-deprecating through the whole thing."
Sitting face-to-face with four varying images of him, MacGillivray said, didn't throw Lefty off, and Mark looked to break the ice during the pair's first conversation together.
"I do have the man boobs," MacGillivray said. "So I told Phil that 'well we both have the man boobs.' He was like, hey now."
The commercial, MacGillivray said, is along the lines of the "Man Laws" campaign Miller Lite ran much of last year, with "the look-alikes" all sitting around a table with Mickelson, interacting with the two-time Masters champion. While Mark has yet to see the spots in their final form, he said they will air during the Verizon Heritage.
"I just hope I don't come off looking like a boob," MacGillivray quipped when asked about seeing the commercials for the first time with friends and family around. "After getting all this un-sought-after attention and then everyone knowing to expect the commercials, you just don't want to look like a boob."
In addition to spending time with Mickelson, MacGillivray and his wife were fortunate to meet CBS analyst David Feherty and Mickelson's popular caddie Jim "Bones" MacKay. While he enjoyed both, Mark was especially impressed by Feherty, who is well known for his humorous, engaging personality.
"Feherty was unbelievable," MacGillivray said. "He was non stop. He really is a genius."
Playing the role of ambassador to his Lowcountry home, MacGillivray used a small portion of his time with Lefty to encourage him to make a return to the Verizon Heritage, where he was a regular during the 1990s.
"His comment was they are just working so hard on the majors these days that he is just so worn out when (The Masters) is over," MacGillivray said. "But he did tell me that Harbour Town was his favorite course on the PGA Tour, and both Feherty and Bones backed that up separately."
Well, we might not have Mickelson here during Heritage week, but thanks to Mark MacGillivray there's still a little hometown connection to one of the area's favorite professional golfers.
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