Phil Mickelson (AP)
Right at the end, though, the ball caught the right edge of the cup, curled 180 degrees to the other side of the hole and stayed out.
A fraction of inch turned cheers to gasps and cost him a 59 on Thursday in the first round of the Phoenix Open.
“Six feet to go, it was in the center,” Mickelson said. “Three feet to go, it was in the center. A foot to go, it was in the center, and even as it’s approaching the hole, I couldn’t envision which side of the hole it could possibly miss on, and it ended up somehow just dying off at the end, catching the lip.”
His caddie, Jim Mackay, fell to his knees and stayed there several seconds.
“He could not have hit a better putt,” Mackay said.
Playing partners Jason Dufner and Rickie Fowler also watched in disbelief when the 25-foot birdie putt lipped out.
“Unlucky,” Dufner said. “He was walking it in.”
“I thought it was in,” Fowler said. “I was pulling for him.”
Mickelson settled for an 11-under 60 at TPC Scottsdale, matching the tournament record he already shared with Grant Waite and Mark Calcavecchia.
“Well, 60 is awesome,” Mickelson said. “Last time I shot 60 here in ‘05, I birdied like the last three or four holes just to do that, and I was ecstatic, and I’m ecstatic to shoot 60.
But there’s a big difference between 60 and 59. Not that big between 60 and 61, there really isn’t.
But there’s a big barrier, a Berlin Wall barrier, between 59 and 60.
“I shot it in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. I shot 58 in a practice round.
“But to do it in a tournament would have been historic for me, something I’d always remember, and I’ll always remember that putt on the last hole probably, too.”
Finishing his round on the front nine, the 42-year-old former Arizona State star birdied the par-3 seventh to reach 11 under.
“Probably the best shot of the day because it’s a tucked little pin over that bunker and I hit a 6-iron to 4 or 5 feet,” Mickelson said. “It was really a good shot from 196 yards.”
He parred the par-4 eighth, leaving an 18-footer a rotation short.
On the par-4 ninth, he split the fairway with a 325-yard drive and hit a gap wedge left of the pin, with the ball spinning to an immediate stop.
Seeking his third victory in the event, Mickelson had a four-stroke lead over Ryan Palmer, Brandt Snedeker, Padraig Harrington, Ted Potter Jr. and Jeff Maggert when play was suspended.
“Hit two great drives on eight and nine and ended up with a pitching wedge and a gap wedge and didn’t hit the best shots, but gave myself great putts at it,” Mickelson said.
He was thinking about breaking 60 after making the turn in 7-under 29, a mark that tied the tournament record for the back nine.
“(When) I birdied three and four, ‘Done deal. I’m going to get this done,’” Mickelson said. “Very disappointed that I wasn’t able to birdie the last couple. ... I just knew I could do it, and darn it, it just lipped out.”
Mackay didn’t say a word about a 59, treating it like a baseball pitcher with a no-hitter.
“I’m handing him the putter and just totally getting away from him,” Mackay said.
Five players have shot 59 in official PGA Tour events. Al Geiberger did it in the 1977 Memphis Classic, Chip Beck in the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational, David Duval in the 1999 Bob Hope Invitational, Paul Goydos in the 2010 John Deere Classic and Stuart Appleby in the 2010 Greenbrier Classic. Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa had the lowest round on a major tour, shooting a 12-under 58 to win the 2010 Crowns on the Japan Tour.
Bo Van Pelt had a 59 in the pro-am Wednesday at TPC Scottsdale, a round that Mickelson watched closely from the group behind.
“He hit a shot on 17, he was 9 under at the time, and he hit a drive that hit the pin and ended up a foot,” Mickelson said. “It should have gone in. And I kind of got into him, I said, ‘Look, I don’t care when it is, get a 3, make a 3 on the last hole because you don’t get a chance to shoot 59.’ Here I am the next day making a 4.”
In perfect conditions on the course softened by weekend rain, Mickelson birdied the first four holes, then parred No. 14 and missed a 5-foot birdie try on the par-5 15th.
“That was the one putt that I hit poorly,” Mickelson said. “I limped it up to the hole. You can’t putt like that. You’ve got to putt aggressively. It almost spurred me on to putt a little more aggressive.”
He rebounded on the par-3 16th, making an 18-footer with a big right-to-left break to roars from the large crowd on the stadium hole.
“I just got it dialed in with the right speed,” Mickelson said.
He birdied the next three holes and the par-5 third and par-3 fourth, showing his prowess off the tee with the new Callaway driver he got Tuesday.
“This driver spins so low that I can have more loft on the club, making it easier to hit,” Mickelson said. “It really could be a revolutionary club for me.”
Mickelson struggled in his first two events of the season — tying for 37th at La Quinta and 51st at Torrey Pines — and caused a sensation by talking about tax increases.
“It was a matter of time before he started getting something going,” Mackay said.
DIVOTS: Mickelson birdied all four par-3 holes, giving him four 2s in a round for the first time in his career. ... Mickelson and Zach Johnson are the only PGA Tour players to shoot 60 more than once. Johnson did it in the 2007 Tour Championship and 2009 Texas Open. ... Vijay Singh withdrew before the round, a day after saying he used deer-antler spray. The 49-year-old Fijian, facing possible sanctions from the tour, cited a back injury. ... Fowler, Dufner and Van Pelt shot 68.
PHOENIX OPEN SCORES
Thursday
Leaderboard at time of suspended play
SCORE THRU
1. Phil Mickelson -11 F
2. Padraig Harrington -7 F
2. Brandt Snedeker -7 F
2. Ted Potter, Jr. -7 F
2. Jeff Maggert -7 F
2. Ryan Palmer -7 F
7. Bill Haas -6 F
7. Y.E. Yang -6 F
7. Matt Every -6 F
7. Nicolas Colsaerts -6 F
7. Brian Gay -6 F
7. Martin Flores -6 F
7. Hank Kuehne -6 F
7. Scott Verplank -6 16
7. Justin Leonard -6 F
7. John Rollins -6 13
Partial First Round
Phil Mickelson 31-29—60
Ryan Palmer 32-32—64
Brandt Snedeker 31-33—64
Padraig Harrington 31-33—64
Ted Potter, Jr. 29-35—64
Jeff Maggert 31-33—64
Matt Every 31-34—65
Nicolas Colsaerts 33-32—65
Bill Haas 34-31—65
Y.E. Yang 33-32—65
Brian Gay 30-35—65
Justin Leonard 33-32—65
Hank Kuehne 32-33—65
Martin Flores 32-33—65
Nick Watney 32-33—65
Kevin Chappell 32-34—66
Ken Duke 33-33—66
Brendon de Jonge 32-34—66
Jeff Overton 34-32—66
Robert Garrigus 32-34—66
Angel Cabrera 36-30—66
Ryan Moore 31-35—66
Harris English 34-33—67
Gary Woodland 34-33—67
Chris Kirk 30-37—67
Hunter Mahan 34-33—67
Ben Crane 34-33—67
Bryce Molder 33-34—67
Troy Matteson 33-34—67
David Hearn 33-34—67
Jeff Klauk 34-33—67
William McGirt 34-33—67
Charles Howell III 35-32—67
D.A. Points 35-32—67
Bubba Watson 33-34—67
Bo Van Pelt 36-32—68
Kevin Stadler 34-34—68
Charlie Wi 31-37—68
Greg Chalmers 34-34—68
Jimmy Walker 32-36—68
Jason Dufner 34-34—68
Rickie Fowler 34-34—68
Will Claxton 34-34—68
Lucas Glover 33-35—68
Rory Sabbatini 34-34—68
Richard H. Lee 32-36—68
Jason Bohn 33-36—69
Boo Weekley 36-33—69
Michael Thompson 34-35—69
Tim Clark 35-34—69
Mike Weir 32-37—69
Fredrik Jacobson 34-35—69
Shawn Stefani 34-35—69
Aaron Baddeley 33-36—69
Russell Henley 35-34—69
Kevin Na 34-35—69
David Toms 34-35—69
Brian Harman 34-36—70
Tommy Gainey 36-34—70
J.J. Henry 35-35—70
Wes Short, Jr. 36-34—70
Scott Piercy 35-35—70
Marc Leishman 35-35—70
Greg Owen 36-34—70
Daniel Summerhays 37-33—70
Jesper Parnevik 34-36—70
Kevin Streelman 36-34—70
Jason Day 34-36—70
J.B. Holmes 34-37—71
Stewart Cink 34-37—71
K.J. Choi 35-36—71
Mark Wilson 36-35—71
Charley Hoffman 33-38—71
Colt Knost 36-35—71
D.H. Lee 35-36—71
Josh Teater 35-36—71
Bud Cauley 35-36—71
Troy Kelly 33-39—72
Davis Love III 36-36—72
John Huh 32-40—72
Stephen Ames 37-35—72
Joey Snyder III 36-36—72
James Driscoll 35-37—72
Luke Guthrie 37-35—72
Brad Fritsch 36-36—72
John Hurley 34-38—72
Pat Perez 35-37—72
Jason Kokrak 35-37—72
Ryo Ishikawa 34-38—72
Johnson Wagner 36-36—72
Carl Pettersson 36-36—72
Edward Loar 36-37—73
Kevin Sutherland 36-37—73
David Lynn 36-37—73
Sean O’Hair 37-36—73
Geoff Ogilvy 37-37—74
Ross Fisher 37-37—74
Ricky Barnes 37-37—74
Kris Blanks 35-39—74
___
Post a Comment