Less is more for Mickelson against McIlroy, DeChambeau at Travelers

CROMWELL, Conn. – OK, he never claimed to be more powerful than a locomotive or possess the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound. But Phil Mickelson surely never refused to stand on the tee box and go toe-to-toe with anyone.

Often to his detriment.

But he was a young stallion then. Today he’s a sly fox.

But after posting 7-under 63 – his best score in a PGA TOUR tournament since firing that same score in Round 4 of the Dell Technologies Championship in 2018 – Mickelson is in position to tie Walter Hagen for eighth place on the career victory list.

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That itself is no surprise. Mickelson remains a fiercely competitive force and as deft as ever with the short-iron game. The surprise is that he showed humility and good sense, a blueprint he once would have discarded on the way to the first tee. But knowing that Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau were his playing competitors, Mickelson took a deep breath and rejected those voices within.

“I made some strides in the sense that I didn’t try to go toe-to-toe with two of the longest guys in the game,” said Mickelson.

For example, the 442-yard, bombs-away, par-4 seventh. McIlroy ripped it 353, DeChambeau rifled it 359, but Phil dinked it out there with a 3-wood. He made birdie.

At the dogleg right, McIlroy (321) and DeChambeau (358) took it up and over trees to get it down near the green. Mickelson carved another 3-wood around the bunkers and into the fairway, a mere 306. He made birdie.

At the par-5 13th and par-4 14th, Mickelson played conservatively, again with 3-woods. Each shot found the fairway, each hole was birdied. His competitors hit drives all over the map at those holes.

“There are some holes where I can open it up and hit driver,” said Mickelson. “But really, I just want to get it in play.”

Knowing those words coming out of his mouth were stunning, Mickelson acknowledge, “I know, it’s not like me.”

But he’s never been 50 before, never had to reign things in, never seen the likes of what DeChambeau has brought to the PGA TOUR in this restart to the 2019-20 season.

“It is hard for me. .. it’s hard for anyone to imagine how straight he hits it for as hard as he hits it,” said Mickelson, shaking his head. Though he shot 67 – 132 and at 8-under is tied for ninth, five shots back, DeChambeau had Mickelson gushing.

“I mean, he drove it pin-high at No. 9. Are you kidding me?”

Observers may have said thing to themselves, listening to Mickelson concede he had backed off any challenge to try and match his playing competitors. But the lefthander said he learned the hard way at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera than to miss with the big boys.

“I tried in LA to match it with Brooks (Koepka) and Bubba (Watson), and those guys are long,” said Mickelson. “I was trying to swing hard and I ended up missing the cut. I ended up not playing well and I learned from that.”