Posted 06-20-2010Mickelson fails to charge early, finishes Open T-4
Pebble Beach, Calif. (June 20, 2010) – Dustin Johnson tookthe final round lead to the first tee in the U.S. Open and rather than securinghimself a place at the trophy presentation he promptly ordered up room servicefor everyone.
“When Dustin made that triple bogey,” said Phil Mickelson,who was two groups ahead and seven strokes behind, “it opened up the tournamentto a lot of guys.” Mickelson being Mickelson, he didn’t bother to add the bogeyand double Johnson added in the first four holes.
By the time he got to the sixth hole Mickelson was threestrokes off eventual winner Graeme McDowell’s lead. But when room serviceknocked with his order of Wannamaker Trophy, he failed to answer. His secondconsecutive 73 left him at 3 over par 73, tied with Tiger Woods for fourthplace at three strokes back.
The pin position on several holes, especially 3, 4 and 6,“offered some good opportunities to make birdies,” said Mickelson.
He had just 132 yards on the long par-4 second hole, hit itto 12 feet and made par. He had eight feet below the hole on 3, made par. Hisdrive on 4 rolled through the green to the fringe but he had an eagle putt from 15 feet abovethe hole. He didn’t make it. He missed the par-5 sixth hole to the right, theworst place to miss it, chipped about 20 feet past the hole and missed thebirdie putt.
“It was frustrating because I had opportunities and letthose strokes go,” said Mickelson. “But at the turn I was still under for myround and even for the tournament which ultimately was the winning score. All Ihad to do was shoot even par on the back and I’m in a playoff. I wasn’t able todo it.”
The 3-putt bogey on 10 “was a momentum-killer,” he said. The12-foot par putt on 14, where he discovered his driver had cracked and resolved not to use it again, “wiggled left the first few feet, wiggled right in themiddle and then wiggled left right at the hole and went over the edge. Ithought it was going to snake in there and it didn’t.” And there was the bogeyat 16.
Five of 82 finalists broke par. The best score was 3-under68. Johnson shot 82 and still finished with a share of eighth place.
“It was just tough,” said Mickelson, who wouldn’t say what anumber of other players did, that the badly mottled poa annua greens putted asif they were well-worn waffle irons. “but, boy in those first seven holes youcould have made up some ground.
It was the eighth time in 17 professional appearancesMickelson finished the Open in the top-10, the seventh time in the last 11 hewas fourth or better.
“I was within three shots of the lead and having thatopportunity is what’s so fun, what’s so exciting about being a professional golfer,”Mickelson said. “I knew through the entire round pretty much that if I couldmake some birdies or shoot under par that I might be able to win.”
But he did not. Opportunity knocked and he failed to answer,along with everyone else but McDowell, who shot 2 over par 74 to win at evenpar. At least he didn’t add to his remarkable Open record.
I wanted towin,” he said, and added with nice comedic timing, “I’m glad it wasn’t a second.”He already has five of those.