Mickelson finishes strong
LA JOLLA, Calif. – After he turned in one of the better final-rounds scores with a 3-under-par 68, Phil Mickelson had a plan for dealing with his U.S. Open frustrations Sunday.
“I’ll probably watch some of it, yeah,” Mickelson said. “It’s kind of my punishment.”
Mickelson had made no secret of his desire to win his first U.S. Open in his hometown and at Torrey Pines Golf Course, which he grew up playing. But Mickelson struggled with a second-round 75 and a third-round 76 that featured a quadruple-bogey nine.
“I felt great when the tournament started,” Mickelson said. “Tuesday when my energy level was up, I felt like my game was there, I was able to practice and work on it. And I felt like I was ready. I just didn’t score. I just didn’t perform.”
Mickelson was so effusive in his praise this week for San Diego and the U.S. Golf Association’s setup at Torrey Pines, he appeared to be on the payroll for the local chamber of commerce. Mickelson gushed again Sunday and said he would like to see the Open return.
“I’ve got to think that the USGA loves the way this tournament has played out,” Mickelson said. “And I think that Torrey Pines, in my opinion, has played the best that any Open setup has played.
“A lot of it has to do with the way it was set up, but it’s such a hard golf course to begin with. You didn’t have to (trick) it up. It was just a straightforward, hard test of golf and I think that there’s a good chance it will come back.”
Heath heats up
Heath Slocum had the best round of the day. He avoided making a bogey and carded three of his six birdies on the final five holes for a 65.
“That was obviously one of the better rounds I’ve ever played,” Slocum said. “I hit the ball pretty good at times, but I kept it out of bad trouble. And I made a lot of putts today. Obviously, that’s what you’re going to have to do out here. I made some big par saves, some long putts that I wasn’t supposed to make for birdies.”
Ratings winner
NBC posted strong overnight ratings for Saturday’s prime-time coverage of Tiger Woods’ memorable climb up the leader board in the third round. NBC’s 5.3 rating and 12 share were the best for a third round of the Open since NBC drew a 6.4/16 when Woods positioned himself to win the 2002 Open at Bethpage.