Mickelson in a groove
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – His caddie loosened the flag from the 18th pin as a symbol of victory Sunday at The Players Championship, and Phil Mickelson added a personal touch.
“Butch, the first of many.”
After playing one of his tidiest rounds on one of the most intimidating golf courses, Mickelson signed his name at the bottom of the note and handed it to his new swing coach, Butch Harmon. Arms around each other’s shoulders, they walked up the hill toward the sprawling clubhouse for the trophy presentation, another sign that Mickelson might be on the rise.
“What’s most exciting is I feel like we’re just getting started,” Mickelson said.
In his third week with a new coach and a new plan, Mickelson suddenly looks better than ever.
He missed only four fairways and two greens, and had only one bogey when it no longer mattered. Mickelson closed with a 3-under 69 for a two-shot victory, adding a mini-major to his collection and renewed hope that even bigger trophies await.
“If I keep working at these things and keep progressing, I should be able to take on the ultimate tough challenge at Oakmont,” Mickelson said, already looking ahead to the U.S. Open next month.
This wasn’t Phil the Thrill.
Having built a two-shot lead heading to the frightening island green on the par-3 17th, he left the attacking to someone else.
Sean O’Hair paid dearly.
O’Hair matched Mickelson shot-for-shot along the back nine at the TPC Sawgrass, unable to convert birdie putts to close the gap. He felt he had no choice but to go after the pin on the 17th, and was shocked when his 9-iron sailed over the green.
“You’ve got to make something happen,” O’Hair said. “I didn’t bust my butt for four days to get second place. Obviously, I paid for it.”
Mickelson finished at 11-under 277 for a two-shot victory over Sergio Garcia, who closed with a 66 with four birdies on the last five holes. But he was only a ceremonial runner-up. The victim was O’Hair, the culprit: that familiar and infamous island green.
He hit another ball in the water from the drop area and wound up with a quadruple-bogey 7, and his bogey on the 18th hole gave him a 76 and dropped him from second place to 11th place, the difference of $747,000.
“You can’t force anything on the 17 and 18, you just can’t,” O’Hair said. “I had to today. I didn’t have a choice.”
Attribute that to Mickelson, who took one hole to erase a one-shot deficit, pulled ahead for good with a par on the 10th hole and didn’t miss a fairway over the final five holes.
Mickelson moved up to No. 2 in the world with his second victory of the year, and the 31st of his career. He earned $1.62 million from the richest purse in golf ($9 million) and trails Tiger Woods by only $60,000 on the money list, and 98 points in the FedEx Cup.