Phil Mickelson: Chances for 4th Jacket Fade in Round Three
Phil Mickelson was not able to keep up with the charging field on Saturday. It will cost him the Masters.
Mickelson started his 3rd round at the 2017 Masters birdie-birdie, making a 13-footer at the first, and two-putting the second — a par five — for another birdie. Then a double at the short, par four 4th erased the advantage of those two early holes.
At the 3rd, he was in a fairway bunker on his tee shot and hit his second shot poorly. It rolled back off the green, leaving him a 40-yard chip. Then his third shot also rolled off the green. He used a putter next, and finally stayed on the putting surface. In the end, it was a double, bringing him back to even for the round.
The real problem was that he did not make any more birdies the rest of the day and then he caught a bogey barrage at the 6th, 8th and 9th.
Putting Woes
At six, his tee shot landed on the far right lower level fringe. He was probably lucky to stay on the green. His first putt rolled back below the pin, about 45 feet, which was the mistake he could not afford. It took two more putts to get into the hole. Bogey.
At the eighth, the par five, which he should have taken advantage of, he bogeyed. His tee shot was a good one, but he pulled his second, landing in front of the second tee, 36 yards from the hole. From there, his next shot rolled over the green, just off the fringe, 45 feet from the hole. He overshot the hole with his fourth, and – you can only say it’s Augusta National – he missed a five-footer for par and then made a three-footer. Bogey.
At the ninth, his putter let him down again. He missed a three-footer for par, and fortunately made the comeback or the damage would have been worse.
On the second nine, as Augusta National likes to call it, he got through Amen Corner unscathed, but did not birdie the 13th. His second shot scooted right of the green, and uncharacteristically, his chip landed beyond sure birdie range. It was nine feet, and he missed it. But he did not bogey. It was an opportunity to make up shots, however, and he was not able to do it.
Struggles on the Back Nine
The highlight of the second nine for Mickelson was birdie at the 15th, the final par five on the course. His second shot landed barely on the grass on the left side of the water in front of the green. He chipped up to six feet and made the putt.
Recovery highlights included getting out of the front bunker on the 12th and making par, getting out of the trees left on the 14th and making par and making a 15-foot par putt on the final hole after a chip 84 yards from left and below the putting surface.
He said after his Friday round that he had some easy pars that he made bogeys on, which he said was something you just cannot do at the Masters.
Surprisingly, Mickelson was not wild off the tee. However, the double at the third and the fact that he didn’t birdie the 8th and 13th, dropped him down to 2-over par, a tie for 22nd with Brandt Snedeker, Brooks, Koepka and Pat Perez.
Justin Rose was 5-under on the day. Jordan Spieth, Charl Schwartzel and Lee Westwood were 4-under. Ryan Moore, Adam Scott and Paul Casey were 3-under. All moved up.
The math says that Mickelson’s chances are nearly impossible for victory at this juncture. Here’s why:
With the leaders, Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia, at 6-under and twenty players between Mickelson and the top of the leaderboard, it is unlikely he will be able to make up the difference. He would probably have to shoot a 63, which would put him at 7-under, and everyone in front of him would have to shoot no better than even par. It is just an unlikely scenario. Not impossible, but highly unlikely, given the quality of the players ahead of him on the leaderboard.
Next: Five Past Masters Champions to Watch
Mickelson’s next green jacket will have to wait until 2018.