Mickelson Still Leads Over 50 Set at Constellation Furyk and Friends
A cool breeze was blowing off the water of the St. Johns River into Timuquana CC as Phil Mickelson battled another left-hander, Steve Flesh, as well as European legend Miguel Angel Jimenez and the dogged Matt Gogel for the lead at Constellation Furyk and Friends tournament. He still tops the leaderboard, two ahead of the other three.
The wind did make conditions a little more difficult, according to Mickelson. On the other hand, he pointed out that yesterday’s rain helped because it made the golf course softer, allowing players to stop the ball on the green more easily. He posted a second round 67.
“I had a bunch of good looks today,” Mickelson said. “I’m really enjoying the golf course, so it’s a fun opportunity to try to go low again and try to shoot the number that I feel I’m capable of.”
Mickelson had one birdie on the front side of the golf course at the third. On the back side he had three birdies, an eagle and a bogey.
“With the exception of that one bad tee shot on 16 that led to a bogey, I drove it pretty well,” he noted adding that his good drives allowed him to play aggressively.
The eagle came at the 13th hole where he hit a 7-iron from the 195 yards in the fairway.
The competition is hot on his heels.
Jimenez, the Spaniard, has 10 victories on the PGA Tour Champions circuit and is no stranger to tough competition since he has 38 professional victories in all.
“Somehow had six feet for birdie the — on the 14. On the 15, I went to the — just past and make a nice chip, four foot. And now on the 17th is another three foot for birdie. You know, so I been doing very solid,” Jimenez said after his round.
His most recent PGA Tour Champions title was September of 2020 at the Sanford International. Most importantly, he won two PGA Tour Champions majors, the Regions Tradition and Senior British Open. Even though he is 57, he has to be considered a threat.
“We have a nice field here, you know,” Jimenez said, recognizing the quality of the players who committed to the tournament. “It’s a — one of the nice field we have all year. And it’s nice to be on top with all the people around.”
Flesch has one previous Champions Tour victory, in 2018. He has recently changed to the arm lock putting style.
“I was using claw. I started using the arm lock, and it felt more traditional to me than a long putter,” he said after his round.
He thinks his feel is better using that style, and he has also changed his routine with it.
“I just stand over, take one look and go,” he said. “If you can dial in your read, it’s going to be on line with that method, so I’m thrilled with it.”
He should be. He had three birdies on the front nine and four on the back.
Tomorrow, Mickelson will try to hold off the rest of the field for his third PGA Tour Champions victory in just four tournaments.