Tour News
Mickelson and a hot putter obliterate the field
“They make a living with their hands.” –Paul Azinger, 11:32 a.m. ET, July 21, 2013
It was a seemingly innocuous comment, but it proved prophetic. Where many sports reward and demand the ability to run faster and jump higher than one’s opponents, in golf it’s all about the hands.
On Sunday at Muirfield, the man with arguably the best hands in the game won.
Phil Mickelson, whose short game has provided countless impressive moments over his near quarter-century career, played one of the greatest rounds in major championship history, shooting a five-under 66 to obliterate the field in front of him at one of the game’s great tournament venues. At 3-under par, Mickelson won by three shots over Henrik Stenson (70), four over Ian Poulter (67), Adam Scott (72) and Lee Westwood (75) and five over Hideki Matsuyama (70), Zach Johnson (72) and Tiger Woods (74).
Westwood, who led by two shots after 54 holes, turned in yet another insufficient Sunday major championship performance. Golf fans will continue to wonder whether the 40-year old Englishman will ever put together a major-winning performance. Strangely, it was Westwood’s ball-striking that let him down on Sunday. He missed every fairway on the front nine and was still able to scrape it around in 2-over par going out. But the errant shots caught up with him on the way home as his prospects dissolved.
Tiger Woods continued his recent streak of final round major championship disappointment on Sunday, finishing in a tie for sixth. All of Woods’ 14 major championship titles have come from at least a tie for the 54-hole lead; as many times as he has been within a shot or two — the latter, this time around — he has not been able to put together a great come-from-behind round à la Mickelson. He will head to Oak Hill Country Club and this year’s PGA Championship in search of major number 15.
Mickelson’s incredible round included four birdies over the treacherous final six holes at Muirfield, where he showed exactly what Azinger meant in his summation. The most impressive turn came at the tough par three 16th, where an excellent six iron tee shot came up just short and backtracked some 40 yards down a slope. A deft pitch left Lefty a seven-foot par putt that found the center of the cup.
Primarily, though, Mickelson’s round was built on the club that has at times conspicuously let him down: his putter. He holed important putts in profusion on Muirfield’s crusty, confounding greens and capped the performance off with a slick, curling 12-footer for birdie on the 18th hole.
Click here to see the clubs Mickelson used at Muirfield.
Assembling such a performance on greens as firm and wind-exposed as Muirfield’s takes more than just good fundamentals and hours of practice. It takes touch — preternatural touch — to go beyond the reading of the breaks and the judgment of the speed and any affective crosswinds. The links courses that comprise The Open Championship rota are so exposed to the wind and rapidly-changing weather conditions that one green may be noticeably faster or slower than others at other ends of the course. On Sunday, Mickelson simply mastered all of these factors.
Much was made of Muirfield’s penchant for coaxing established major champions to the top of her leaderboards. Since World War II, nine Open Championships have been contested among the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. And all nine times, its winner has been multiple-major champion. Phil Mickelson’s name is now etched on the Claret Jug in Muirfield years near those of Henry Cotton, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo (twice) and Ernie Els. Of those players, only Gary Player had not previously won a major before his triumph at Muirfield.
Mickelson now has three of the four legs of golf’s career Grand Slam. The vacancy on his mantle belongs to the U.S. Open, which has so excruciatingly eluded him. This year at Merion Golf Club, Mickelson buckled on Sunday under the weight of his five career runner-up finishes and the expectations of a golf world, collecting a record sixth second-place finish and yielding the title to Englishman Justin Rose.
In 2014, the U.S. Open returns to Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, where in 1999 Mickelson first finished runner-up in the event, to the late Payne Stewart. On the line that week will be the opportunity to ascend higher up the pantheon to join Gene Sarazen, Gary Player, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as holders of all four major championships.
Yet again, one of golf’s great venues may serve as the theater for the endless drama that endears this game — and champions like Phil Mickelson — to millions.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 PGA Championship
GolfWRX is on site this week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, for the PGA Championship.
While we see fewer equipment changes and new gear seeding at major championships, we get a look at custom gear and looks into the bags of players we rarely see, which is just as exciting. In the case of the PGA Championship, this means a look at the gear some of the PGA Professionals who qualified for the tournament will be gaming, and LIV players, such as Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed.
Check out links to all our albums from Valhalla below and check back throughout the week as we continue to update.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Michael Block – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Patrick Reed – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Cam Smith – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brooks Koepka – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Josh Speight – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Takumi Kanaya – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Kyle Mendoza – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Adrian Meronk – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jordan Smith – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jeremy Wells – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jared Jones – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- John Somers – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Larkin Gross – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Tracy Phillips – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jon Rahm – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Keita Nakajima – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Kazuma Kobori – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- David Puig – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Ryan Van Velzen – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brad Marek – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Chris Gotterup – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Rich Beem WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Phil Mickelson – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Matt Dobyns – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Lucas Herbert – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jason Dufner – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- John Daly – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Taylor Gooch – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Dean Burmester – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Joaquin Niemann – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Dustin Johnson – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
Pullout Albums
- Ping putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Bettinardi covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Cameron putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Max Homa – Titleist 2 wood – 2024 PGA Championship
- Scotty Cameron experimental putter shaft by UST – 2024 PGA Championship
- Joaquin Niemann – new Ping putter – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brooks Koepka’s new Cameron putter – 2024 PGA Championship
- Rickie Fowler’s Cobra bag and Aerojet driver – 2024 PGA Championship
- Super Stroke grip – 2024 PGA Championship
- Tiger Woods – 2024 PGA Championship
- Michael Block’s new TaylorMade “Proto” 7-iron, from address – 2024 PGA Championship
- Odyssey putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
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News
Photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
GolfWRX is live this week at the Wells Fargo Championship as a field of the world’s best golfers descend upon Charlotte, North Carolina, hoping to tame the beast that is Quail Hollow Club in this Signature Event — only Scottie Scheffler, who is home awaiting the birth of his first child, is absent.
From the grounds at Quail Hollow, we have our usual assortment of general galleries and WITBs — including a look at left-hander Akshay Bhatia’s setup. Among the pullout albums, we have a look inside Cobra’s impressive new tour truck for you to check out. Also featured is a special look at Quail Hollow king, Rory McIlroy.
Be sure to check back throughout the week as we add more galleries.
General Albums
- 2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Monday #1
- 2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Akshay Bhatia – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Matthieu Pavon – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Keegan Bradley – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Webb Simpson – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Emiliano Grillo – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Taylor Pendrith – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Kevin Tway – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
Pullout Albums
- New Cobra equipment truck – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rory McIlroy – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- New Cobra equipment truck – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Eric Cole’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Custom Cameron putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Matt Kuchar’s custom Bettinardi – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Justin Thomas – driver change – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rickie Fowler – putter change – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rickie Fowler’s new custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Tommy Fleetwood testing a TaylorMade Spider Tour X (with custom neck) – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Cobra Darkspeed Volition driver – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
See what GolfWRXers are saying about our Wells Fargo Championship photos in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
GolfWRX is on site this week in McKinney, Texas, at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson (FKA the AT&T Byron Nelson).
Last year at TPC Craig Ranch, Jason Day ended a five-year winless streak. J-Day is in the field again, as are Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, and Will Zalatoris.
We have our usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums for your perusal. As always, we’ll continue to add links to additional albums as they make their way to us from the Lone Star State.
Check out links to all our photos below.
General Albums
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Pierceson Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kris Kim – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- David Nyfjall – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Adrien Dumont de Chassart – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Jarred Jetter – North Texas PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Richy Werenski – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Wesley Bryan – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Parker Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Peter Kuest – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Blaine Hale, Jr. – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kelly Kraft – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Rico Hoey – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Pullout Albums
- Adam Scott’s 2 new custom L.A.B. Golf putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Scotty Cameron putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Ben Griffin playing Maxfli golf ball
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Brad
Jul 22, 2013 at 3:51 pm
Obliterate…I like to think Demolished! No one even came close to Phil! One of the greatest rounds of all time!! The new Tiger is comfortable with choking!!
Todd
Jul 22, 2013 at 12:22 pm
That was the best run I’ve ever witnessed on a Sunday in a major. I was really pulling for Phil, and felt like he (and Bones!) really accomplished something special.
Nip
Jul 21, 2013 at 11:10 pm
This was bound to happen. Mickelson goes for broke every time he’s a few back in a tournament. Most of the time his efforts flop short, but every once in a while he comes up with a special run.
Tiger lost that all-or-nothing mentality somewhere. Does a smashing job of keeping the foot down when he’s in the lead or coming back to win in minor tourneys, but can’t get himself to abandon his conservative game plan in the majors when he’s a few back. Used to; doesn’t now.
Dave
Jul 22, 2013 at 7:05 pm
I think the emotion that Tiger plays with is the reason for his inability to come from behind in Majors. He is very streaky… if he’s hot, he has a level of confidnece in himself that is rivaled by no one… but if he’s cold, he gets so down on himself that he can’t turn it around.
Tiger lost the Open the moment that 3w on 17 landed in the cross bunker. He knew how dumb that shot was and that it basically meant, barring a complete meltdown by Westwood that he wouldn’t be playing in the final grouping Sunday. It’s almost like Tiger feels that he’s too good to be playing in anything but the last group and just doesn’t want anything to do with it…
I’m sure he’ll win another major, but not sure if he’ll ever win one coming from behind.
chris franklin
Jul 21, 2013 at 6:25 pm
“Obliterate”?Hardly the case,a rather sweeping and not wholly accurate description of events.
Your melodrama cheapens a masterful and gritty display by Mickelson who thoroughly deserved to win over one of the toughest Open courses of recent years.
The killer blows were birdies on 17 and 18,until that point it was still in the balance.
‘Lefty’ is very popular here in Britain,fans appreciate his enthusiasm and respect for the game and will be delighted to see him lift the Claret Jug albeit at the expense of one of our own.
Good quote I heard today;”Winners make it happen,losers let it happen”.
KK
Jul 22, 2013 at 12:09 am
Phil walked off the 18th green and left the 8 remaining guys playing for 2nd place. I think that counts as obliterate.
chris franklin
Jul 22, 2013 at 6:18 am
With 4 holes to play it was still in the balance,if it had been a 9-hole competition I would agree that ‘obliterate’ would apply but not when it required something special after 68 holes of championship golf to shut the door and bolt it which was what the birdies on 17 and 18 did.
I’m as delighted as anyone to see Mickelson win,he’s a worthy champion and a great ambassador for the game,what irks me are the silly attempts at sensationalism when straightforward,sensible and accurate reporting is what people want to read.
Dave
Jul 22, 2013 at 6:59 pm
Right… but you have to actually count those birdies on 17 and 18 in Mickleson’s final score; the round did not end at 16. So yes, I agree with the author’s “obliterate” comment. When the entire field was locked in a 1-2 stroke back and forth all day… going birdie, birdie, par, par, birdie, birdie to win by 3 strokes is total obliteration.