Ridgewood's short fifth hole punishes Mickelson

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Phil Mickelson has struck the ball well this week, but lack of success on the greens have prevented him from gaining any momentum.

PARAMUS, N.J. -- Phil Mickelson made birdie on the drivable fifth hole at Ridgewood Country Club each of the first two rounds. On Saturday, though, the 291-yard par 4 known as the "five and dime" exacted its revenge.

Mickelson hit his 3-wood in the thick rough short of the left greenside bunker. He then left his second shot short of the green in the same deep rough. And that's where the real damage was done.

"This time it was pretty deep in some kind of swirly grass and I tried to hit a little 64-degree wedge," Mickelson said. "It came out, and I heard it ding my club on the follow through. I didn't really feel it. It didn't look like it really affected the shot, but I kind of heard it or felt it, and so that was a penalty stroke and I missed the putt."

Despite the double bogey on Mickelson's scorecard, though, he's still a fan of drivable par 4s. He'll see another one next week in the 298-yard fourth hole at TPC Boston where he defends his title at the Deutsche Bank Championship

"I've always enjoyed the challenge of the short par 4s, and most of them are great risk/reward holes," Mickelson said. "So it's not a bad thing to hit wedges into a par 4 every now and then. It's not a bad thing to have a birdie hole. You don't have to just beat us up every hole.

"I think that we've gotten in this mode in the tournaments that we play where ... the whole point is to make every golf course harder, harder, harder, but that's not all better. And these mixture of holes where you can reach them, holes like what we did at next week's tournament in Boston, No. 4, I think that's actually made the golf course better.

"Even though we might shoot one or two more under par to win than we would normally, I don't see why that's a bad thing. I think it's been a real plus. I like what the trend has now been to have a greater mixture of holes."

Mickelson, who shot 72 on Saturday, will now enter the final round of The Barclays well off the pace at 1 under. A two-time winner in 2008, he hasn't finished lower than 20th in his last five starts, including three majors, but he has been a round or so from really contending.

He's frustrated, but Mickelson feels like he's hitting enough good shots, it's only a matter of time. He just needs to get the ball in the hole quicker.

"The difference is that I just know that if I'm patient, it will eventually turn," Mickelson said. "You know, we all go through these spells where you're playing well, but you're not getting out of it what you want. I feel like if I'm just patient enough, eventually it will turn."

And Mickelson, who entered The Barclays third in the FedExCup standings, knows there's no time like the present with the $10 million bonus looming large three tournaments from now.

"The way the points system is set up over these four weeks, every round and every shot and every position matters, because of the variance in points," Mickelson said. "So it may not look it this week; but if I can fight out and play a good round tomorrow and move up and finish in the Top 10 or 20 down the road if I happen to win, it will give me more of a cushion; or if I happen to play better the next couple of weeks, it will better position me."