of his final round to briefly share top spot on the leaderboard but his putting then fell away dramatically and another British Open slipped by on Sunday.
Mickelson’s fantastic five-under par front nine was the best by anyone all week and after he also birdied the 10th to share the lead with eventual champion Darren Clarke the mercurial left-hander must have been thinking this was his moment to make a trans-Atlantic impact.
However, a rash of missed putts on the way home as he risked all to try to catch the Northrn Irishman took him out of contention and he had to settle for a share of second place with fellow American Dustin Johnson.
Mickelson said before the tournament that he was determined to enjoy it come what may after so often struggling at the world’s oldest major.
The supremely talented left-hander, with three U.S. Masters, a U.S. PGA, five second or joint-second places in the U.S. Open and more than $62 million in prize money to his name, had a miserable Open record.
In 17 previous appearances he managed just one top-10 finish, third at Troon in 2004, and only made the top 25 five times. His previous appearance at Royal St George’s in 2003 produced a 13-over-par tie for 59th.
More importantly, he said he had finally made progress in learning how to putt on links-course greens, something that had mysteriously troubled a man renowned as one of the best putters in the game just about anywhere but in the Open.
On Sunday he set off on level par, five shots behind overnight leader Clarke and with five others ahead of him. He soon set about picking them off though with a sizzling front nine that was two shots better than anyone else managed all week.
Despite the 35-mph winds, Mickelson looked completely in control of his ball. He birdied the second and then claimed another unlikely shot when he drilled a 15-footer at the par-four fourth, a brute of a hole where just about everyone else was happy to escape with a par.
His laser-controlled irons were slicing through the wind and another birdie at six was followed by a 20-foot putt for an eagle at the seventh.
He lipped out with another birdie attempt at the eighth and, despite sliding another agonisingly wide at the ninth, still turned for home five under for the day and the week and briefly level with Clarke, who edged two clear again when he too eagled the seventh.
Mickelson continued the hot streak with another birdie at 10 to get to six-under, one off the pace, but things suddenly went downhill in a hurry.
The turning point was the par-three 11th when he missed a lengthy birdie putt, then stabbed his return wide to drop his first shot since the 10th on Saturday.
“It was just a stupid mistake, just a dumb mental error,” he said. “I just lost focus there and it hurts to throw shots away like that when I’m behind.”
The putter that had been so hot on the front nine, cooled further with three more dropped shots at 13, 15 and 16, while he also missed a short birdie attempt at 14 as he came home in 38 for a two-under par 68 and a share of second.
It was his best British Open finish and though he will consider it a great opportunity missed, Mickelson showed his class by staying on at the 18th to congratulate Clarke.
“Oh, man, that was some of the most fun I’ve had competitively,” Mickelson said.
“I hit some of the best shots I’ve hit in the wind, not just today but really all week. I made some great putts today and then later on I still hit great putts that caught the lip or looked like they were going to go in.
“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 bogeys.”
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire