by Jeff Skinner
The battle is over but the crusade continues. Phil Mickelson finished his disappointing try at the career Grand Slam today at the U.S. Open with another mediocre round of golf.
The five time major champion and six time Open runner up carded a two over 72 that left him some fifteen shots off the lead when he left the course.
Mickelson came in here so full of promise, so full of hopes but so lacking in that trusted short game of his.
He drove the ball better than he has at past Opens but his chipping and putting were no where near his normally high standards.
But Phil is an optimist and he is sure he isn’t done competing in the U.S. Open.
“I believe in the next five years I’m going to have three or four really good chances, and I do believe I will get it. I’m not upset or disappointed, I will have more chances. And right now, given the way I have been playing heading into this tournament, it was really a long shot. I’ve got to get some momentum and get my game sharp for me to really have a chance at winning and I’m going to spend the next five, six weeks seeing if I can get that to get it going here to finish the year strong.”
Asked if finishing so far down the leaderboard was less painful than his torturous second places he said he would
rather be close than out of the competition, “Not at all. It is way worse, because there’s nothing more exciting than having a chance. There’s nothing more exciting than waking up Sunday with a 3:25 tee time and an opportunity to win the U.S. Open, whether you win or lose, because that pressure, that nervous feeling, those butterflies, that energy from the crowd when you make a birdie, the excitement, there’s no he replacement for that. That’s why we play.”
All in all, Phil said the week was fun, but that is just him putting a good spin on things, “It was a fun week. It was — I just loved the golf course, the setup, how it played, how fair it was. What surprised me is how pure and perfect the greens were. I thought with this heat, bent grass, I just didn’t think they would be as perfect as they are. They’re just amazing. You get the ball on line and they go in every time just like Augusta, you know the last four or five feet if they’re going in. They were just pristine. I think that there was some birdie holes on the back nine that when they moved the tee up on 13 and some other pins, you could get to, but also you can make some 25-, 30-footers and you just never know what will happen on that back nine. But it’s interesting to see how in control Martin is of his game. It’s impressive.
Phil will head home for some family time and get ready for a defense of his Open Championship title, “I’ll start getting ready for Hoylake and I’m optimistic about the end of the year, but I’m excited about the coming years, too. I think that this year has been a great learning year for me as far as certain areas of my game, but I haven’t quite peaked with them yet. But I feel like I actually learned a few things and picked up some things for the coming years.”
Phil Mickelson: Eternal Optimist.
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