La Jolla, CA (Best E Casino) - Phil Mickelson answered some critics on Saturday by finally putting a driver in his bag.
It was a wedge that cost him any chance of his first U.S. Open title.
At the par-five 13th, Mickelson took four shots to get on to the putting surface from in front of the green. Three rolled back to him, then after his fourth stopped 20 feet from the stick, he three-putted.
Mickelson, who grew up playing Torrey Pines, walked off with a quadruple-bogey nine. He finished with a five-over 76 and fell into a tie for 47th place at plus-nine -- 12 shots behind leader Tiger Woods.
"I've had a nine on 13," said Mickelson. "I was eight years old, but I have had a nine there.
"It's a birdie hole. And here I was one-over par, I felt like if I could get birdie there on 13 I could get back to even for the day. Over par's going to win. I felt like, gosh, one or two coming in I would be right there. And so that's obviously a bummer."
A bummer it was.
Mickelson has essentially cost himself any chance of his first U.S. Open at a course he knows well. Mickelson, a three-time Buick Invitational winner at Torrey Pines, has been staying at home and taking a helicopter to the course.
One thing Mickelson is not doing is blaming the course.
"I think that this has been the best U.S. Open setup I've ever seen," said Mickelson. "I know I'm a little biased, I'm from here, but the course -- here I am nine-over par saying this -- it is the fairest setup I've ever seen."
All agree that the setup has been fair, but some have wondered why Mickelson had kept the driver in his locker all week while carrying of a fifth wedge. He put the big stick in the bag on Saturday, but still only hit six fairways.
"I needed to try to make some birdies and get a few shorter irons in, being that I was four-over," explained Mickelson about his decision. "And started out hitting some decent drives, but the back nine I missed some fairways and that was costly."
13 GETS ANOTHER
Mickelson was not the only player to get trapped at the par-five 13th.
Ernie Els, a two-time U.S. Open winner, missed his third shot short and the ball rolled back down to the fairway. He did it again, but knocked his fifth fairly close.
Els sank a six-footer to save bogey, but shot a 74 to fall into a tie for 11th place at three-over 216.
A FORGOTTEN STAR
Most of the attention was this week -- and deservedly so -- was focused on the elite group of Woods, Mickelson and Adam Scott, the top-ranked players in the world who shared a tee time through the first two rounds.
Coasting under the radar has been Sergio Garcia.
This year's winner of The Players Championship, Garcia opened with a five-over 76 Thursday and was forgotten by most. Since then, the Spaniard has posted back-to-back 70s and is back in the mix at plus-three.
"I would love to be a couple better, just to make sure that I was a little closer, but like I also said, every time you shoot under par here you shouldn't be too greedy," said Garcia. "Unfortunately I just had a bad start on Thursday. But I'm slowly coming back."
Garcia was one-over on his round until the par-five 13th. Clearly a hole that has bitten some players, Garcia hit his second right at the stick and nearly made it for a double-eagle. He missed the 25-footer for eagle, but tapped in for birdie.
He birdied 18 as well to get in under par for the round. And keep in mind this fact: Garcia has birdied the 18th all three rounds and he came from behind to win the Players.
"I think I can still manage to do something," said Garcia. "Today I felt like I hit a lot of good shots, maybe not as many as yesterday, but it's not easy. It's a U.S. Open. That's why it's a major.
"But I'm pretty happy and looking forward to hopefully having a good finish tomorrow."
Garcia can maybe get some major retribution on Sunday. Last year, Garcia lost a playoff to Padraig Harrington at the British Open, but has a decent U.S. Open record. He tied for third in 2005 and finished fourth in 2002.
OPEN NOTES
- Woods, with his electrifying finish Saturday, took the 54-hole lead at a major championship for the 14th time (he shot a 70 and was at three-under 210). And guess what? He's a perfect 13-0 in the other tries.
- Woods is 54-3 overall with the 54 hole lead worldwide. One of those losses came against Lee Westwood, who was just a shot back in second place at Torrey Pines. Eight years ago Westwood beat Woods with a final-round 64 at a European Tour event in Germany.
- It was historically a good thing for Woods that he grabbed the third-round lead with his eagle at the 18th hole on Saturday. He has never come from behind to win a major championship.
- Woods is looking for his third U.S. Open title. His last came at Bethpage Black in 2002.
- The low round on Saturday was posted by Brandt Snedeker, who fired a three- under 68 to move into a share of 15th place at four-over 217. Miguel Angel Jimenez still owns the low round of the tournament with the 66 he carded on Friday.
- For the first time this week, the par-four 12th did not play as the most difficult hole. The par-four sixth held that spot on Saturday, playing to an average of 4.6375 shots.
- The par-five 18th also lost its ranking as the easiest hole. The par-five 13th -- where, ironically, Mickelson and Els had their troubles Saturday -- played to an average of 4.6250 strokes and was the easiest hole.
