Do you have a link for a slow motion video of Phil? It may appear the way you describe but if you consider the considerable momentum of the clubface at impact, you know it can't be true. Here's a video of one of his team mates
About the collision at impact, if you watch the videos that show closeups at impact, you can clearly see the direction of the club being altered. One of the benefits of sustaining the lag through impact is to try to offset the affects of the impact collision. If impact with the ball is capable of caving in or cracking a clubface, or snapping off the clubhead at the hosel, then surely the force at impact is sufficient enough to alter the path of the club through impact, especially since it is essentially a glancing blow (given that the club has loft).
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