As punishment for two bad holes, Phil Mickelson said he likely will watch the Masters on TV this weekend.
Mickelson, three-time champ, snapped his streak of making the cut at 16 consecutive Masters after carding his second triple bogey in as many days. He shot a 1-over 73 on Friday to finish at 5-over 149. It was his second missed cut at the Masters since he began playing in it as an amateur in 1991. The other came in 1997.
“Why couldn’t I get it going? You know, I don’t really have a great answer for you,” he said. “I’ve actually played reasonably well for a majority of the holes and then the ones that I let slide, I end up making a big number. So it’s tough to overcome those big numbers.”
Going from between the ropes with an iron in his hand to between the couch cushions with a remote in his hand can be blamed on bad wedges and putters, the same that have helped him accumulate more than $70 million in tournament winnings and five major titles since turning pro in 1992.
After posting a seven on the par-4 seventh hole Thursday, he posted another triple Friday. This one came on the par-3 12th hole, one that in his 83 Masters rounds before Friday he had played close to par (3.15 stroke average).
Mickelson’s tee shot landed in the bunker in front of the hole, where he said there wasn’t a lot of sand. His wedge caught the lining and he bladed the shot over the green into the back bunker.
He said the ball again landed in a spot where there wasn’t a lot of sand. His shot rolled back across the green, mockingly stopping in the front bunker. After walking slowly across the green with a look of disbelief on his face, Mickelson’s third bunker shot rolled across the green and past the flag, stopping just before the second cut.
His putt for double bogey didn’t make it to the hole, resulting in a triple-bogey 6. He had never scored higher than a double bogey on 12.
It left him 7 over and needing to go at least 3 under on the final six holes to give himself a chance of playing on the weekend.
Mickelson being Mickelson, he almost pulled it off.
After parring the par-5 13th, the hole that he famously birdied when he won in 2010, he bounced back to birdie the par-4 14th.
That set up his last good opportunity to make up a chunk of hallowed, beautiful green ground on the day’s last par 5, the 530-yard 15th.
After hammering his drive into the fairway, Mickelson’s long iron approach shot landed softly on the green and rolled a few feet behind the pin.
This time his putter, not his wedge, let him down. He pushed the 10-foot eagle putt left. It never looked close to going on. He tapped in for birdie to move to 5 over. He gave the shot right back by bogeying the par-3 16th.
“He’s certainly missing the knack or the scoring part of this game,” the Golf Channel’s Brad Faxon said. “You know, he’s never going to thrill you with statistics all the time … but I think his looseness in his short game is something that’s miffed even him.”
After Thursday’s round, Mickelson said he thought he hit the ball well, but his timing and instincts were off. He traced that issue to the lack of competitive golf that he has played this year. He twice withdrew from tournaments, including at last month’s Valero Texas Open after he strained a muscle in his right side. He withdrew from Torrey Pines in January because of a back injury. He said those injuries didn’t affect him this week.
“That’s what I’ve been nervous about is having a hole like 7 yesterday, a hole like 12 today, where I go along, making pars, putting the ball in the right spot and you just get a bad situation,” he said. “I end up letting instead of one sliding, two or three are going away. That’s the kind of stuff when you’re playing tournament golf and you’re mentally sharp, you don’t do. And that’s the kind of stuff I seem to be doing right now.”
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