Phil Mickelson walked off the first green with a disgusted look on his face, as if he’d thrown away any shot at making the cut in the PGA Championship.
A 7 on the opening par-4 hole will do that to you.
“I think in the history of the PGA Championship, that’s the worst start of any player’s round,” Mickelson said. “I’d have to look that up.”
The five-time major winner set about steadying himself, writing the triple bogey on the scorecard and leaving it behind. With four birdies the rest of the way and only a slip-up on 16, Mickelson managed an even-par 70 to advance to the weekend in Springfield, N.J.
“I was able to fight back and be patient from there on out, start to make a birdie here or there,” he said.
As usual, Lefty’s gallery was massive – he played with defending champion Jason Day, who is tied for third at 7-under, and Rory McIlroy, who bogeyed the relatively easy par-5 18th to miss the cut at 3-over 143. Those thousands of fans were as stunned with the way Mickelson began as he was.
After a 1-over 71 on Thursday, the PGA winner when the tournament last was held at Baltusrol in 2005 hit his drive so far left on No. 1 that its first bounce was on Shunpike Road. It appeared to hang a left on Baltusrol Drive, possibly on its way to the Hudson River.
Playing a provisional on the 478-yard hole, Mickelson messed up once more, the ball landing far from the fairway, nestling near a path. His next shot almost landed in the backyard of a home adjoining the golf course.
He needed two shots to reach the green, then, thankfully, he one-putted for a 7.
“Just a total mental block on that first hole,” he said. “And I don’t even know what to say. It was just horrific.”
Mickelson began his comeback with a birdie on No. 3, got another on the 8th and one on No. 11. A bogey on the par-3 16th jeopardized his standing, but he made sure he would make the weekend with a birdie on the finishing hole.
Then he let out a major sigh of relief.
“I’m having a difficult time right now managing my expectations, because I know how well I’m playing,” he said, “and I’m so result oriented that I’m not playing very relaxed, free golf like I did at the British, like I did in the preparation here. Tomorrow, I’m going to try to go out and not worry about the score and just play a good round because I’ve been hitting a lot of good shots. I’m trying to force the issue because I know you’ve got to get hot out here.”
Unlike Mickelson, McIlroy couldn’t respond, though he came close. The two-time major champion came off an opening 74 and needed to post a good number to remain in the tournament. He made his first birdie of the tourney on No. 4 and birdied 6, but bogeyed the ninth. After a birdie on 11, he was in position to stick around, but he bogeyed 13.
McIlroy came to the only two par-5s on Baltusrol at 3 over; the cut would be plus 2. He birdied the more difficult 17th, then fell apart after hitting his second shot into the deep rough behind 18. Two wasted shots led to a 6 – and an early exit.
“I thought I needed to make 4,” on 18, he said, “so that’s what I was trying to do. It was a tough lie. I hit the first one as hard as I really could considering how close the pin was to the edge of the green.”
SPIETH AT LEAST HAS A CHANCE
Jordan Spieth warmed up on the range, rode the side streets in a van to get to the 10th tee and was ready to go Friday in the PGA Championship when he had to stand around for nearly an hour because of a rain delay.
No matter. He still came out firing.
And he hit just enough shots, and holed just enough putts, to get back into the mix at a major championship.
Spieth made three birdies in his opening four holes, along with a careless three-putt from just off the 12th green, to work his way up the leaderboard. He wound up with a 67, the first time he had a sub-70 score in a major since the opening round of the Masters this year.
He still had plenty of work to do. At 3-under 137, he was six shots behind the leaders.
“I’m striking the ball beautifully,” Spieth said. “Driver went a little astray, but overall, I feel like I’m in a good position to make a run. I just need a couple good rounds.”
That’s better than his last two majors.
After squandering a great opportunity at Augusta, where he had five-shot lead on the back nine, Spieth hasn’t had a chance in the other two majors. He was eight shots behind at Oakmont after two rounds, and he was 14 shots behind at Royal Troon going into the weekend.
BLOCK MISSES CUT
Michael Block, the head pro at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club, shot a 6-over 76 for a two-round total of 148, missing the cut by six shots.
Others to miss the cut included Irvine resident and ex-UC Riverside golfer Brendan Steele (144), Vijay Singh (144), John Daly (147) and Dustin Johnson (149).
