Phil Mickelson is going to have to play some of the best golf of his lifetime to finish second in this U.S. Open.
In the Tiger-less world in which we currently find ourselves, Mickelson came to the 2014 Open as the spotlight figure, the soon-to-be 44-year-old champion whose only hole in his credentials is this title. Winning this one seems the longest of shots now that his putter has turned on him. His 73 on Friday left Mickelson 3 over for the tournament and 13 back of runaway leader Martin Kaymer.
Why, yes, even finishing runner-up, as he has six times in the Open, does not look promising. Nor sound promising.
“The hole looks like a thimble to me right now,” he said Friday. “I’m having a hard time finding it.”
For Mickelson’s Mob, Friday was tough to watch. His was the most frustrating kind of day in which the five-foot putt seemed to grow to five miles before their eyes. He three-putted four greens Friday, jabbing his way around this course like a man in dire need of GPS directions to the hole.
“I feel like I’m playing well enough to win the U.S. Open, except for putting,” Mickelson said. Which was a little like saying he felt quite capable of scaling Mount Everest, except for his fear of heights.
“It’s kind of the same story,” he said. “After I’ve three-putted three or four times, I kind of lose my focus on the other stuff. It really affects my ability to concentrate and my momentum and energy. It’s a frustrating time because I feel like the other parts of my game are there.”
Mickelson signaled his discomfort on the greens when he broke out a new grip — called the “claw” for the fingertip-only use of his lower hand — in advance of this Open. By Friday, he had gone back to his conventional grip.
“I made good putts on No. 2 and 3 (for birdies, raising the hopes of his followers). And I hit a really good put on No. 5 that didn’t go. I thought I was going to have a good day,” he said.
But then he missed a par putt from three feet on No. 6 and six feet on No. 8. From there, he went to a very bad place. In perfect summary of the day, he required a five-footer on the final hole to salvage par, and it did not go well.
It was with a calm resignation that Mickelson looked ahead to the weekend and declared, “Well, I’m not overly optimistic.”
Someone still might catch Kaymer. “You never know what will happen in a U.S. Open. There’s a lot of guys right there ready to pounce if he slips up,” Mickelson said.
As for him being among the pouncers, well, “I need to shoot 6 or 7 under par to have a realistic chance,” he said.
That might require someone expanding the holes from thimble- to hubcap-size overnight.
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