The azaleas are lovely at Augusta National this time of year.
Phil Mickelson wasn’t enthralled by the flowering shrubs deep in the pine trees along the ninth fairway.
The three-time champion had his second round of the 2018 Masters fall apart on the final hole of the front nine Friday. Mickelson took a triple-bogey after his second shot from off the fairway hit a tree and the ball ricocheted well to his right and deeper into the pines. The good news was he found the ball. The bad news was he found it.
Mickelson took an unplayable lie after the ball was in a group of azaleas. He finished with a seven on the par-4 hole when a chip to the green nearly rolled off the putting surface and further complicated the woes.
In his previous 95 rounds at the Masters, Mickelson carded worse than a double-bogey on the hole only one other time.
“I just hit the tree,” Mickelson said. “There was plenty of gap. I just pushed it trying to run a 2-iron down to the green and get up and down and salvage par. … I found it, but it was in the bushes, and the drop would have been worse.”
By the end of the day, Mickelson shot a 7-over 79, tying his worst round ever at the Masters. His two-round total of 5 over par put him right on the cut line. He’ll be around for the weekend, but with a very early tee time. Mickelson tied for 46th.
After coming to the ninth tee at 2 under par, Mickelson walked off the green at 1 over par. The trouble was behind him – but only for a short time.
After a birdie on the 10th hole moved Mickelson back to even par, water, and not shrubbery, became his nemesis.
Mickelson bogeyed the par-4 11th hole, thanks to a flop shot from 23 yards off the green traveled only nine yards. His tee shot on the par-3 12th ended up in Rae’s Creek. A drop, chip and two putts led to a double-bogey five. It was only the ninth time in his Masters career that Mickelson carded 2 over par on the hole. In a span of four holes, Mickelson went from 2 under to 3 over par.
“Poor execution,” Mickelson said of the water ball. “I’m trying to hit a little cut in there. If anything, if I cut it and miss it left of the hole it’s going to be a little bit short and fine. I just pulled it. I just flat out pulled it. Same exact shot on 11. I know I can’t miss it over there right and I tried to hit a cut and I yanked it. Just poor execution.”
More disaster was averted at the par-5 13th when Mickelson’s second shot nearly ended up in the tributary guarding the green. A chip to six feet offered a chance at birdie, but Mickelson missed and settled for a par.
The day’s misery ended with bogeys at Nos. 16 and 18.
“It’s disappointing,” Mickelson said. “There is a fine line between wanting it so bad and letting it happen. As you get older you feel a little more pressure each one because you don’t feel you have an unlimited number of events. Given how well I was playing coming in, I certainly put a lot of pressure on myself to perform this week and get it. I know the opportunities are lessening. Especially as well as I’ve been playing, I thought this was a great year, a great opportunity.”
Mickelson entered his 26th Masters with a win, a second-, a third-, a fifth-, a sixth- and 15th-place finish among his nine events. The victory came at the WGC-Mexico Championship last month.
It was thought that the 47-year-old Mickelson had a real chance to become the oldest winner of the Masters, topping Jack Nicklaus’ victory at age of 46 in 1986. Nicklaus said before the tournament that he believed Mickelson had a great opportunity this week.
Such a historic victory is unlikely now.
Mickelson said after a first-round 2-under-par 70 that he was “fractionally off” and believed he could fix the small issues before the second round. However, he knew after his first stroke Friday, there was trouble brewing.
“I thought we kind of fixed it,” Mickelson said. “I was pretty excited. I had a really good warm-up. I was hitting it great. The first hole I blocked it again. I was a little worried the rest of the round. … I just didn’t have it. The conditions were a little more severe and so the misses were magnified.”
More on the Masters:
About the Author
