PGA champ Phil Mickelson misses cut by 1 at Colonial
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Phil Mickelson's nice approach yields birdie at Charles Schwab
FORT WORTH, Texas – Phil Mickelson stared down at his ball for several seconds. He switched clubs. A difficult shot from the deep bunker guarding Colonial’s 18th green would decide if his victory lap at the Charles Schwab Challenge would last two more days.
The shot landed gently but rolled 10 feet below the hole. Mickelson needed to make that par putt to make the cut. His ball started left of his intended target and broke just below the hole, coming close enough that Mickelson jerked his knees straight and swung his putter between his legs as the ball burnt the edge.
A miss of mere millimeters sent Mickelson home early from the Charles Schwab Challenge, a tournament he has won two times.
“I love this tournament and am sad I won’t be here for two more days,” Mickelson said.
He shot 69 on Friday, four shots better than his score in a windy opening round. After his emotional win at last week’s PGA Championship, Mickelson was paired at Colonial alongside local favorite Jordan Spieth and defending champion Daniel Berger. It was Mickelson who received the largest cheers on many holes, even though Spieth played well enough to hold the 36-hole lead.
Next up for Mickelson is an extended preparation for the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines Golf Club in his hometown of San Diego.
Mickelson isn’t playing the next two weeks so he can spend extra time preparing for the one major that stands between him and the career Grand Slam. Last week’s win in the PGA Championship was his sixth major title, but none of those wins have come at the U.S. Open. He has a record six runner-up finishes in the one major that has eluded him.
The same short game that helped Mickelson win at Kiawah Island almost carried him across the cutline Friday. He hit just eight greens Friday but saved par several times to keep his weekend hopes alive.
After making a bogey on his first hole, he made four birdies and no bogeys over his next 14 holes. That final birdie, at the par-4 15th, put him 3 under for the day and one inside the cut line. He failed to get up-and-down from greenside bunkers on both 16 and 18, however, and missed a 12-foot birdie putt on 17.
Other players to miss the cut include Patrick Reed (68-74), Sungjae Im (71-71), Texas alum Scottie Scheffler (70-73), Lee Westwood (75-69), Cameron Champ (75-70) and Michael Visacki (77-72), the Monday qualifier who went viral at the Valspar Championship. He competed this week on a sponsor exemption.
Sean Martin manages PGATOUR.COM’s staff of writers as the Lead, Editorial. He covered all levels of competitive golf at Golfweek Magazine for seven years, including tournaments on four continents, before coming to the PGA TOUR in 2013. Follow Sean Martin on Twitter.