Lefty's loss measured by three strokes ... and 30 inches
SANDWICH, England -- Miffed at himself over throwing away a stroke at a crucial stage of an important event, Phil Mickelson extended an index finger and pointed it toward his head.
One shot off the lead at a Grand Slam event where he's mostly struggled to be relevant over the years, Mickelson had just absent-mindedly missed a 30-inch par putt that he'd rushed for no real reason, derailing some serious mojo.
Mickelson jabbed himself in the temple -- not once, but twice.
| British Open 2011 |
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But the wasted stroke was a double-tap to the noodle from which he would not recover.
Playing arguably the greatest nine holes of his career given his tepid history at the world's oldest major, Mickelson stormed into a tie for the lead at Royal St. George's on Sunday, but it was all undone soon after he missed a kick-in on the 11th hole.
For that, he was kicking himself.
It was the first of four game-ending bogeys on the back nine, and the four-time major winner had to settle for a tie for second, three strokes behind Northern Ireland's unflappable Darren Clarke.
"The putt at 11 was just a stupid mistake," Mickelson said.
It wasn't as painful as the meltdown at Winged Foot, where he gave away the U.S. Open on the last hole, but it felt comparable in some ways. Mickelson had just shot 30 on the front nine -- matching his lowest nine-hole score in any major -- and birdied the 10th to stay within a stroke of the lead, moving to 6 under for the day in awful conditions.
Then, among the puddles of the persistent rain, he missed a piddly little putt that let all the air out of his balloon. And what a dirigible it was. Mickelson put on an early show that was as brilliant as any two hours in his career.
"It was incredible, he didn't miss a shot," caddie Jim Mackay said. "He said to me after the [birdie] putt went in on 6, 'This is about as much fun as I have ever had playing golf.' He was totally, totally into it. It was so cool."
He began the day five strokes behind Clarke, who by no means was wobbling. Yet for only the second time in 18 British Open trips, Mickelson found himself in the hunt Sunday, and he was bringing forth the heat like has so often at Augusta National.
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| Phil Mickelson's brilliant career has also had a number of these moments. (Getty Images) |
After lagging a 25-foot birdie putt to 2½ feet, Mickelson marked the ball but didn't eyeball the line, then slammed it past the left edge of the hole for a gut-wrenching giveaway. At that point, the strategy changed completely -- Mickelson had to press the issue.
"When I saw Darren wasn't going to make a mistake, and he played some great golf, I had to start trying to make birdies, and that's when I ended up making a couple of bogeys," Mickelson said.
It all began with the 30-inch no-brainer, which changed the plot faster than the schizophrenic weather. Mickelson and Mackay had been having so much fun pillaging the course before that, the BBC radio crew said they were flashing enough enamel to paint one of the local bridges.
No question, his mental outlook played into the trademark rally. Mickelson had one top-10 finish in his 17 previous British Open starts, but said he was starting over this week with a different outlook. He was determined to enjoy the rigors of links golf without complaint. He was slinging tee shots and hitting low wind-cheaters like he'd been born to play under links conditions.
"Yeah, I was having a lot of fun, some of the most fun I've had," Mickelson said. "I was just hitting the shot I was seeing every time, and the ball was rolling where I was wanting it to."
Other than with the putter. Mickelson missed an 18-inch putt earlier in the week and failed to hole four putts from inside four feet over 72 holes.
"The putter let him down all week, to be honest with you," swing coach Butch Harmon said. "He made a few at the start of the round and then down the stretch it kind of went away. But that's fine. I thought his attitude was the best it's been all year. He really embraced being here and being in position with a chance to win."
That has not always been the case in the past, when Mickelson has sometimes let the capricious ways of the Open -- the wind, rain, funny bounces and cultural differences -- eat at him.
"He had an amazing attitude this week," wife Amy Mickelson said. "It was very fresh -- that would be a good word to describe it."
The fans were certainly behind him Sunday. When Mickelson made his eagle on the seventh, the roar was probably heard in France.
"I knew kind of who they were rooting for, that's for sure," playing partner Anthony Kim said. "And I think he knows his name by the end of this week."
He knows the identity of the culprits relating to why he's not flying home with the Claret Jug: Himself and his putter. If he could take back that 30-incher, there's no telling what might have happened.
"There was nothing to it," he said. "It was just a dumb mental error. I just lost focus there and it hurts to throw shots away like that when I'm behind."
The hurt aside, Harmon sensed that the positivity Mickelson brought with him this week might just turn things around. By Mickelson's own admission, he hasn't been himself for the past two years, which coincidentally or not overlaps with the medical issues he and Amy have fought at home.
"He had a great week mentally, he really stayed in there, hung in there and didn't get down on himself like he has a little this year," Harmon said. "I think you will see a good Phil Mickelson at the end of the year."
St. George's saw plenty of him for two hours Sunday, for sure.
