Round 2: Farmers Insurance Open
January 27 2012
6:09 pm
Mickelson’s play not reflecting practice
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM
LA JOLLA, Calif. — Phil Mickelson’s lament Friday after he missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open was one with which many weekend golfers could relate.
"It’s easy for me to see where the difference is, and the difference is that I’m not taking it from the practice tee to the course," Mickelson said after shooting a 68 on Friday that left him 1 over for the tournament.
"My practice sessions have been better than they have in quite some time. But it’s not correlating on to the golf course. I just need to have a better focus. That’s the only explanation that I really have.
“There is not any one area of my game that I don’t feel good about. … Unfortunately, I’m going to have a weekend off here and we’re going to have perfect weather out here at Torrey, and I’d love to be playing, but I don’t have that opportunity."
Mickelson, who is headed next week to the Waste Management Phoenix Open where he is a two-time champ, put himself behind the eight-ball with an opening 77. That round was Mickelson’s second highest ever at Torrey Pines and paved the way for his just his fifth early exit in 23 starts at his hometown event.
But Mickelson may have had other things weighing on his mind. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on its website this afternoon that Mickelson’s 10-year-old daughter Sophia fainted and suffered a small seizure at school last Friday.
She was hospitalized until Monday and underwent a series of tests on Thursday but returned to school today. Mickelson considered withdrawing from the Humana Challenge but his wife Amy told him to stay and play because she had things taken care of at home.
“I don’t want this to get out of hand,” Amy told Tod Leonard, who covers golf for the newspaper, on Friday at Torrey Pines. “She’s doing OK. I’m confident in the doctor who I met yesterday who specializes in her situation. We’re figuring it out. For me, the knowledge is a good thing. I don’t like limbo.”
Mickelson improved statistically on Friday, hitting two more fairways and five more greens in regulation than he did in the first round. He also took 29 putts as opposed to 32 on Thursday when he called his round "pathetic." Still, the North Course is the more generous of the two and Mickelson wasn’t able to take it really low to give himself a realistic chance to make the cut.
"Yesterday’s round was shocking to me just because my expectations were so high because I knew I was playing well," Mickelson said. "To come out with that score was, I don’t know what else to say about it. So I’ve got to let it go and move on.
"Today was the day where I needed to let things happen, because I had to shoot 7- or 8-under par. You can’t go out expecting to shoot that score and have it happen. You just have to let it happen, and it didn’t quite get there. … But I’ll have some time now to work on it, whether I want to or not, and see if I can get it turned around for next week’s tournament in Phoenix."
Mickelson went to college at Arizona State and lived in the area for 12 years. So the change in altitude, temperature and terrain shouldn’t be that much of an issue for him — and he likes TPC Scottsdale because "it has great risk-reward," Mickelson said.
Whether he starts playing the way he’s practicing, though, remains to be seen.
"I won’t know until Thursday, because I feel pretty good with the areas of my game, but I’m not bringing it to the course," Mickelson said. "So I won’t know if the practice and the work I do these next four days will correlate until I tee it up on Thursday."
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knowing his daughter is OK will make a world of difference in his game in the future. Phil will never make excuses about his game but we know how important family is. At least he played and the fans got to see him for 2 days .GOOD HEALTH TO ALL THE FAMILY . 2012 will be a great year for you!!
2 words:
Past it
Hope to see you next week in Scottsdale and get a autogragh. I am 72 years old and you are my hero. God Bless you and your Family..
Ha ha – You’re not past it – you’ve never been it. Mickelson will be back…
mikelson needs to give up competitive golf & concentrate on designing courses & other business interests. then in a few years when he hits 50 maybe he will be ready for the geezer tour.
Are you scared he may beat your favorite player? I mean, there are 150 guys playing out there at once… Hating on 1 player isn’t going to help your favorite player really do that much better.
Only my oppinion: I’ve noticed a few things, as of late and it is my oppinion that if Phil
wants to compete this 2012 year and be in contention for major tourn.he must do a couple of things. First I watched him play today, and he looked old. I’m sorry but he has several years on these new contenders.He is over weight.In my oppinion this must change for him to have success on course and for his health.
Second, he’s got to pull a Tiger and go back to basics. I’ve always been #1 Tiger fan first and always, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want the seasoned players to give the newbies a run for money, its not too late.
Thanks Darlene / Canada
You do realize that he has won major championships while heavier right? He is obviously not thin as a rail, but he is not so overweight that it obstructs his play. Let’s be real here… If you see him in person, he’s not that big.
I’m glad to hear his daughter is okay. People forget these golfers have things going on off the course just like everyone else.
The press are already making excuses for phils poor play although I wish all the best to his little one. Having all the money in the world can’t buy good health can it?
news flash: woods & mickelson will start their own tour with 100 hand picked stooges they can beat most of the time. that should make everyone happy.
not surprised at all that he didn’t play well with his daughter not well. No way he could concentrate fully on his golf with that happening. He’ll bounce back.
Hao , gail , gord. Get your noses out of tigers crack and look outside of the trailer, the world has moved on and golf has got stronger the last 3 years not weaker. You just can’t stand the fact that your messiah is not the man anymore, get over it
Is there no thread you can talk about Tiger Rorys round fabulous golf and Tiger just hit a stellar 3wood from 275 yards to the green
It’s amazing to me that anyone would have a figmjam, I mean, a figment of the media’s imagination, be their hero. The truth is that as many times as I have wanted Phil to do well, he’s let me down. Golf is a result oriented sport, and his results fall far short of his obvious talent. It’s sad. Oh Jason: He’s not the messiah for me, just the second best golfer of all time, with the only chance in my lifetime of catching Jack. It’s not sad to watch TW come back, it’s inspiring.
Phil is a POS.
I think he is getting older but not over the hill. Age wise he has another 3-5 years. Other factors, arthritis and probably losing steady nerves for putting. I talked to an old pro, he said older/old players can hit the ball better than ever, they lose steady nerves over their putts. As a pro, you have to put together four good rounds to win tournments. However, a bad round or mediocre rounds have become more common for Phil. I think he needs to accept he is getting older and no longer has the flexibility to grip and rip with the driver without losing control. He still has plenty of length without being the longest.
were on earth can we talk about Tigers round today?? is there some thread someone could tell me about
i thought so too return of the king, after all it is basically Tiger Woods PGA Tour the majority of the year where we see him pick out his socks as an article, then when he is playing the best golf that he has played in 3 years, there is no coverage whatsoever! Obviously they aren’t happy at the fact that Abu Dhabi is such a quality tournament.
Woods’ putting was back today and his driving was looking so much better. It was him around his very best.
But I wouldn’t say that McIlroy was at his very best and he battled away to stay only 2 behind. It is not easy at all to play three rounds in a row with Woods but he has managed to remain in a prime position to contend tomorrow despite a lot of pressure on the young guy. Some haters were saying that he would ‘choke’ and ‘cry’ at the thought of competing with Woods but the 68 today is very respectable.
It was great for golf to see the two great players battling it out and all you had to see was their handshake at the end of the round to see the respect for each other. They had a lot of fun out there and it was great to watch.
It’s all on tomorrow now, Woods is the favourite now but McIlroy is still in it and so is Robert Rock! The man with the impeccable hair has earnt a final round pairing with the Tiger.
Its a world class field in Abu Dhabi so should be a big thing in the golf world. It was so fantastic to see Tiger play today and scary stuff if he continues like this. We might actually if he stays healthy see a very big year from him, iam starting to think 5-8 wins and i preditc he will end up top 25 in every event this year it really looks so good his game now.
Repeat after me: KEEGAN BRADLEY….
****
PHIL,
you’ve got your weight
out on your toes at
address,
go do some crunches
and core work and
get back in the saddle
otherwise Eldrick is
going to beat you like
a rented mule this year!
Let me start by saying I am a huge fan of Phil Mickelson.
Having said that, it is really annoying to hear him say, for the past 6 months or so, that he feels great, that his game is improving etc.. but he constantly fails to deliver in the course, where it actually matters on not during practice rounds.
There is definately something wrong here, because he only managed to put 4 days of good gold last year, twice, once when he won the single tournament in the US and coming runner up in the British Open.
Its all psycho Mumbo jumbo! All of these guys are so fragile, they have to keep saying that they are “close” or something to convince themselves that they aren’t playing like crap!! Admitting it is the first step to recovery Phil!! You are playing bad, whatever the reason it’s time to focus and work to play better. I’m sure some of you happy glad hands are fine with Phil coming out and signing your stupid autographs while missing the cut but I want to see him play golf, and play like he can!! Let’s quit with the excuses. If you daughter is sick, withdraw and take care of her. You already faked it through the Humana so you’ll get your 15-18 events. Practice and come out prepared, otherwise I think you are ripping us all off. Including yourself.
What is it with all these harsh words about Phil. Season just started give him some slack, iam sure he will fight in few events this year and probably will take at least one down. The guy is ofcourse getting little older but he is one of the best and he will ofcourse have a solid season.
The harsh words are true. Phil needs someone to give him some tough love and stop telling him how great he almost is.
x24 nobady needs to tell Phil anything, he won over 30 times on the tour more then 99% of all players will ever do. He is a legend and he deserve all the respect, the hate here from some posters here is just beyound surreal
Phil needs to play with TW, so does Furyk, Vijay and 3 dozen others that have measured their game against TW throughout their entire lives. They’re lost, they don’t have a benchmark that is familiar. Old dogs, new tricks… I betcha when TW wins a few in the near future all these guys will step it up again, because the carrot at the end of the stick will come into focus.
As we all know golf is a weird and wonderful game which probably sums up phils career.I’m a big phil fan and refuse to believe the voices of doom watch for phil to bounce back next week in phoenix.
hmmmm i don’t see any europeans on here today talking crap…. please tell me where the world number 1,2 and 3 are right now…..
world numnber 1,2,3 DOB are chasing the best player in the world right now any other question:))
i have a question for return of the king.
if the world number 3 overtakes the best player in the world and wins abu dhabi, is the best player in the world still the best player in the world?
As a Phil, I am disappointed because with his talent he appears less competitive. He has too much of a gunslinger attitude. You need to know when to attack and when to be patient.
Mentally, any player needs to have confidence in their game or they will not be successful. I talked with a Master Instructor, he told me he didn’t make it on the tour because he felt he didn’t belong.
King- Phil is a legend but he couldve and shouldve had 8 majors by now. But he doesnt because no one tells him no!! He is told he’s great no matter what dumb move he makes like carrying two drivers. Just play golf.
April 6th, 2011 8:52 pm
How many of those of you who actually play golf, could play a round with 2 Drivers in your Bag, one and inch shorter than the other bent for a fade and the other an inch longer than the other bent for a draw and have a pray to control both of those required driver swings on command. This I got to see… This guy is a Mad Scientist! By the Way, Has Feel Ever Won a Major with Butch Yet??
Just Sayin… :0}
99% of you so called golf experts have never played competitively at any level. nor could you break 150 on a legitimate course with usga rules in effect. as for the pga all you know is the woods & mickelson soap opera. when they quit you won’t be golf fans anymore. yes, they have been great players. but, no longer. get over it.
ABRA ;you’ve been playing with your wand too much.