Mickelson shines in a feature pairing with Woods

Mickelson shines in a feature pairing with Woods

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DOUG FERGUSON (AP Golf Writer) August 31, 2013 4:13 AMAP - Sports

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NORTON, Mass. (AP) -- Phil Mickelson can already call it a great year. He wants it to be more than that.

Mickelson captured the third and perhaps most important leg of the career Grand Slam with one of the great closing rounds in major championship history, a 66 at Muirfield to win the British Open. He has two other wins this year at the Phoenix Open and Scottish Open.

Not since 1996 has Mickelson gone this deep into the PGA Tour season with a chance to be player of the year for the first time.

Sure, Tiger Woods has five wins and remains the heavy favorite. Mickelson, with a major to his credit, could pose a serious challenge if he were to win a FedEx Cup playoff event, and winning the FedEx Cup would only strengthen his chances.

That's why he was working particularly hard to get his game sharp for the stretch run.


And it paid off Friday in the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Playing alongside Woods and Adam Scott in a grouping of the top three players in the world, Mickelson stole the show at the TPC Boston. Even with a hard-earned bogey from deep in the woods on the final hole, Lefty opened with an 8-under 63 to share the lead with Brian Davis in the second FedEx Cup playoff event.

''It was a good start,'' Mickelson said. ''I got off to a great front nine and somewhat stalled on the back. But after shooting 7 under the first nine, it was going to be a good round as long as I didn't mess it up.''

He sure tried with a snap-hook off the tee at No. 9, his final hole, that went so far to the right that fans could barely see him through the leaves and limbs as he looked for his ball in the hazard, and then hacked out of the jungle on his way to salvaging a bogey.

''What Phil did today was pretty impressive,'' Woods said after a 68 that only seemed worse considering the company he kept.
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Phil Mickelson, left, shakes hands with Adam Scott, right, from Australia, as Tiger Woods, center, w …

Scott, the Masters champion, struggled to a 73 and joked later that he rolled out of the wrong side of the bed. ''I wish could have gotten in their jet stream,'' Scott said.

There was talk of a 59 after Mickelson hit 6-iron from 213 yards to tap-in range for eagle on the par-5 11th to get to 8-under with seven holes remaining, though this didn't have the look of one of those magical rounds - not like the near-miss he had in Phoenix when his putt for 59 on the last hole swirled in and out of the cup.

More than anything, it was a special day on the greens with a collection of birdie putts from 15-20 feet.

But he'll take it.

''I putted really well today,'' he said. ''My ball striking was OK. I didn't hit shots exceedingly close, other than the eagle putt on 2. But what I did do is make a lot of 12- to 20-foot putts. The one that you need to make to get a really hot round, I ended up making them - and quite a few of them, at that. I was just giving myself reasonable opportunities and I was rolling them in.''
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Tiger Woods waits to tee off on the 10th tee during the first round of the Deutsche Bank Championshi …

Woods didn't show any signs of lingering back pain, and he said that wasn't an issue. He even hit balls after his round. His 68 put him in a tie for 34th on a relatively soft TPC Boston that produced 55 rounds in the 60s. Woods wasn't worried about what Mickelson was shooting. He only wanted to get to somewhere around 5-under, and he nearly did until missing two good birdie chances on his final three holes.

Davis played bogey-free, holing a 25-foot birdie putt on his final hole to join Mickelson. They were one shot clear of Kevin Stadler, with the Hunter Mahan, Sergio Garcia and Roberto Castro another shot behind.

Mickelson's game took a vacation from his win at the British Open, though he felt it turning around at The Barclays last week, when he closed with a 65 to tie for sixth. He went home to San Diego to take his oldest daughter to her first day at high school, practicing every day.

And he looked sharp at Boston, at just the right time.

Mickelson knows what's at stake. He'd like to win the FedEx Cup because he believes it will become more significant as time goes on. And he knows it gives him his best chance at player of the year. Lefty has never been No. 1 in the world, won a money title, a Vardon Trophy or been voted player of the year.
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Tiger Woods reads the green after hitting in the bunker of the 10th hole during the first round of t …

His best chance was in 1996, when he won four times, and lost out to Tom Lehman whose two wins were the British Open and the Tour Championship, the latter giving him the money title because of the large purse at the final event.

''If I finish off with one or two wins this year, and win theFedEx Cup, I think that would be enough to get the player of the year,'' he said. ''My game clicked again last week, and I feel like these next three weeks I'm going to play very well. I can just feel it. You can just tell sometimes. The game feels sharp. And mentally, I have a lot of energy and I'm able to focus clearly. And that's usually when you play well.''

Phil Mickelson could finally have right recipe for British Open win

Phil Mickelson could finally have right recipe for British Open win

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Pat Forde July 16, 2013 1:48 PMYahoo Sports




GULLANE, Scotland – Over the years, links golf and Phil Mickelson have gone together like haggis and jalapenos. They have been a perfectly dreadful combination.

But now, Phil says he's come around. Like, all the way around. If you listen to him, it's now like haggis and … uh, whatever goes splendidly with sheep innards.

"It's hate-love," Mickelson said Tuesday from Muirfield, site of this year's British Open. "I used to hate it and now I love it."

What next, Rick Pitino and John Calipari playing member-member? Bubba Watson taking the driver out of his bag? Tiger and Sergio laughing it up in a practice round?

Mickelson, of course, is the second-most prominent and accomplished golfer on the planet. He's also the guy with a total of zero British Open titles. And while he also has the career bagel in the U.S. Open, he's come in second in that event a record six times – including another narrow miss last month at Merion.

No such close-but-not-quite track record for Phil over here.

Mickelson has twice as many missed cuts in the British (four) as he has top-10 finishes (two). That includes last year, when he went 73-78-see ya later at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.

But the Mickelson who met the media at Muirfield sure didn't sound like futile Phil. He sounded more like formidable Phil, who may have the best chance of his career to win a Claret Jug this week.

First, he raved about the new putting stroke he's been working this year (but refused to divulge what tweaks he's made to said stroke).

"I am really optimistic about this week and going forward because I'm starting to putt as well as I ever have," Mickelson said. "… You've seen me try the belly putter, you've seen me try different grips, and finally I believe I have kind of found the secret to my own putting."

Then he raved on the 3-wood he's been using more off the tees instead of the driver that has often led him into heather, gorse and whatever other inhospitable weeds the British Open has to offer. Mickelson didn't use a driver while finishing second at Merion last month, and he won't use one here – he's hooked on a short-swing 3-wood for distance.

"This 3-wood has changed my game," he said. "You've seen me hit fairways and not have big misses. It's changed the way I feel about the Open Championship."

And he's coming off a victory Sunday in the Scottish Open – his first career victory on British soil. That links tune-up could be a springboard to a sensational two weeks in the United Kingdom.

"It's difficult to win the week before a major and then follow it up winning the major," Mickelson said, then he flashed his dimples. "But then again, the last person to do it – you're looking at him."

That was in 2006, when Phil won the BellSouth Classic one week and The Masters the next. This double would trump that in terms of degree of difficulty, at least for Mickelson.




Mickelson feels good about his chances to win his first British Open. (AP Photo)The weird thing is that it has come to this – a 0-for-17 record between two entities that seemed destined for each other. The Open demands creativity and flair that is far different from the target-golf precision of the U.S. Open and PGA Championship, and the grip-it-and-rip-it accessibility of The Masters. Mickelson is nothing if not creative.



Yet it has never worked out, to the consternation of many.

Mickelson embarked on a detailed, golf-wonky explanation of it Tuesday, basically boiling it down to this: "strong blades" of fescue grass on the greens, and too much wind.

The wind has been a persistent problem for Lefty in Britain, largely because he loves playing the ball high and most links holes favor those who can control it low. It has been as much altitude as attitude that has held Mickelson back all these years.

Now, he comes to Muirfield armed with what he labeled a "low, little scooting shot" first implemented in 2004 with the help of guru Dave Pelz. He comes armed with the secret putting sauce. He comes armed with momentum gained last month at the U.S. Open and buttressed last week at the Scottish Open.

And if the weather forecast for the week holds – disappointingly mild, if you love your Open with a little atmospheric mayhem – this could be the perfect storm for Phil Mickelson. A hate-love relationship could finally blossom into hate-love-win.

Haggis and jalapenos for everyone if that happens.




Phil Mickelson, practicing Tuesday at Muirfield, is excited about his new putting stroke. (AP Photo)

Tiger Woods says elbow is good to go

Tiger Woods says elbow is good to go

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PGA.COM July 16, 2013 2:45 PM

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World No. 1 Tiger Woods is looking to end the longest major drought of his career.(Getty Images)


By Paul Newberry, Associated Press

GULLANE, Scotland -- Tiger Woods said his ailing left elbow is "good to go" for the Open Championship, and he insisted Tuesday there's no loss of confidence despite the longest stretch of his career without a major title.

Woods held his regular session with the media ahead of the Open at Muirfield, where he resumes his quest for a 15th major title. Once considered a lock to break Jack Nicklaus' record, he hasn't won one of golf's biggest events since the 2008 U.S. Open.

"I feel very good about my game," Woods said. "I feel very, very good going into major championships. I've had a pretty good year this year so far -- won four times. Even though I haven't won a major championship in five years, I've been there in a bunch of them where I've had chances. I just need to keep putting myself there and eventually I'll get some."

The biggest question mark for Woods at this major is his health.


He strained his elbow at last month's U.S. Open, playing in visible pain while struggling to a 32nd-place finish. He hasn't played since Merion, even skipping his own tournament to give the injury time to heal.

"The elbow feels good," Woods said. "It's one of the good things of taking the time off to let it heal and get the treatment and therapy on it. The main reason was that coming over here, the ground is going to be hard, obviously. And I'm going to need that elbow to be good. And just in case the rough was, well, reports were it was going to be high, and it was going to be lush. I needed to have this thing set and healed. And everything is good to go."

Woods has dealt with several injuries, a swing change and major distractions in his personal life since winning at Torrey Pines five years ago.

Not like he hasn't been in contention. Woods has eight top-10 finishes in the majors since his last victory, but he hasn't been able to break his drought. Now he's returning to a course where he shot his worst round as a professional, an 81 in miserable conditions during the third round of the 2002 Open.

"It's just a shot here and there," he said. "It's making a key up-and-down here or getting a good bounce there, capitalizing on an opportunity here and there."

Woods is again the world's top-ranked player, and no one comes close to his 13 PGA Tour victories over the last five years. But he knows better than anyone that major titles are what will determine his legacy. These are the tournaments he gears his entire season around, the ones he wants more than any others.

In his eyes, it's just a matter of time before he wins another one.

"It's not much," Woods said. "It could happen on the first day, it could happen on the last day. But it's turning that tide and getting the momentum at the right time or capitalizing on our opportunity. That's what you have to do to win major championships."

©2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press.