Phil Mickelson celebrates his 32nd birthday Sunday–Father’s Day.
Mickelson put himself in position Saturday to see his ultimate present, his first major title. But he will need an extraordinary day to open it.
Trailing Tiger Woods by 10 shots after four holes, Mickelson pulled within two strokes of the leader at one point during the third round of the U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park’s Black course. A bogey on No. 18, combined with two late birdies by Woods, left him five shots back going into Sunday.
Still, Mickelson was pleased with his round of 67, placing him in a tie for third with Jeff Maggert at even par.
“All in all it was a fun day there in the middle of the round when I got things going,” Mickelson said. “The start didn’t look so promising.”
Mickelson made bogeys on three of the first five holes, putting him at 5 over for the tournament. At that point, he said, he wasn’t thinking about catching Woods. He was merely trying to get his game back together.
“The last thing on my mind was trying to get into contention,” Mickelson said. “I was able to not worry about what the leaders were doing and try to get my round back to even par.”
Mickelson started the reversal with birdies on 7, 8 and 9. Then he kept the roll going on the back nine with birdies on 13 and 15.
When he dropped another birdie on 17, the crowd reacted. They clearly want golf’s snakebit man to win a major.
“It’s an incredible feeling making a putt on any of these greens, because the galleries have been so supportive and exuberant for the players,” Mickelson said.
Yet in typical Mickelson fashion, he couldn’t maintain the momentum. Trying to play it safe on 18, he knocked a 2-iron into the rough, leading to a bogey.
It was a costly mistake because he lost a chance at being in the final pairing with Woods. Instead, he will play with Maggert.
“I was sorry to give it away on 18,” Mickelson said. “I would have liked to have been in the final group. . . . I didn’t want to bogey the last hole.”
Now Mickelson will try to post a low score in front of Woods. Being five shots behind, he really has nothing to lose. After shooting 67 Saturday, he knows there are some birdies out there.
“We have 18 more holes on a golf course that if you hit good shots, you can make birdies,” Mickelson said. “But if you miss tee shots, you’re going to make bogeys. I think that opens the door for lots of players to maybe make a move.”
Maggert could be that player. With so many big names on the leaderboard, he has been overlooked.
Yet he shot a 68 Saturday, no surprise given his reputation as a solid U.S. Open player.
From 1994 through 1999, he finished in the top 10 in five of six Opens.
