by Jeff Skinner
While Spencer Levin and Kyle Stanley lit up the north course at the Farmers Insurance Open with opening 62’s Phil Mickelson had a poor round over the south course that left him confused and 15 strokes off the lead.
Mickelson, who admitted to coming into Torrey Pines with high expectations shot a stupefying 77 on a course that he knows better than anyone. The tally wasn’t good by any measure: six of fourteen fairways, nine of eighteen greens and 32 putts. Mickelson was as puzzled as all of us with his performance.
“I went in and had a good weekend, good final few rounds at the Hope,” Mickelson said. “I had some good days of practice and I was ready to play. I don’t know what happened. I just wasn’t able to focus.
“Obviously, I made some bad swings just in the wrong spots and so forth. But I felt like my game was ready heading in, and I don’t know what to say about the score because it was pathetic.”
The best thing we saw from Phil was the familiar profile of him using a regular putter as he finally has switched back from the belly putter he was experimenting with.