Mickelson must regroup in time for U.S. Open after missing TPC cut
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – When the Players Championship was moved from March to May in 2007, it seemingly signaled a promising development for Phil Mickelson.
Having struggled at times over the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course (zero wins, four missed cuts and just two top 10s in his first 13 appearances), Mickelson celebrated Mother’s Day in 2007 with his wife and family after winning this PGA Tour flagship event.
The Players Championship joy was short-lived, however. The past eight years have been forgettable, so much so that for a third consecutive Mother’s Day, Mickelson can celebrate at home. He backed up an opening 73 with a dismal 76 Friday morning and at 5 over, Lefty missed the cut, just as he did in 2013 and 2014. Mickelson hasn’t broken 70 here since the third round in 2011. His scoring average for the 11 rounds stands at 72.363.
“I don’t know what happened,” Mickelson said.
He conceded that having been off since the Masters, “I’m always rusty mentally” when he returns. “But I thought I was prepared to play.”
With Mickelson having played 74 competitive rounds at the Stadium Course, there’s no way he doesn’t know how imperative it is to play cautiously at the closing holes – the par-3 17th and par-4 18th – and especially when it’s windy as it was each of the last two days.
But Mickelson was anything but cautious. Thursday afternoon, he drove into the water that runs all the way down the left side and made double bogey. Friday morning, he found dry land down the left, but from 186 yards he blocked his 6-iron approach and ballooned his shot into the water and wound up making a triple bogey.
“You know, I was going pretty good until then,” he said, and indeed he was 1 under for his round, level for the tournament until the second straight mishap at 18.
With the cut likely to be level par 244 or 1 over, Mickelson was even par at the other 34 holes, but 5 over at the 18th.
“I kept hitting into these spots that were difficult recoveries – like the water,” Mickelson said. “Certainly the water; that’s a tough recovery.”
Infuriating stuff, especially with his history. Mickelson hadn’t made a double bogey or worse at the 18th hole in this tournament since 2001 when he made a 6 in Rounds 1 and 4. In 45 rounds since, Mickelson has made six birdies and is 24 over for 42 holes.
If you sensed that Mickelson wasn’t overly disappointed, he said it was due to what he felt was a misleading two days. “I’m not as discouraged as the scores would indicate, just for the simple reason that, again, I made nine birdies. I hit a lot of good shots.”
The left-hander said he was still committed to next week’s Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, N.C., then he would start assessing his options for getting out to Chambers Bay near Seattle to prep for next month’s U.S. Open.
“When they close the course down to the public (May 25), I’ll go out there and see the course and then I’ll play the two weeks prior to the Open to try and get my game sharp.”
