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 RBC Heritage
GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.
We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.
We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.
Check out links to all our photos, below.
General Albums
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #2
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Justin Thomas – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Rose – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Nick Dunlap – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Thomas Detry – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Austin Eckroat – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Jason Day – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Will Zalatoris – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Ludvig Aberg – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Collin Morikawa – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Sam Burns – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Stephen Jaeger – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
Pullout Albums
- Wyndham Clark’s Odyssey putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- JT’s new Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Thomas testing new Titleist 2 wood – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey putter with triple track alignment aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Scotty Cameron The Blk Box putting alignment aid/training aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey Ai One Eleven T putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Christian Bezuidenhout – testing new Callaway Ti 340 mini driver – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele testing the Callaway Ti 340 mini driver & the DUW – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Byeong Hun An, two new L.A.B. Golf putter builds with “T” alignment – 2024 RBC Heritage
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Valero Texas Open
GolfWRX is on site this week at the Valero Texas Open.
The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar. Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw.
GolfWRX has its usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs and special pull-out albums. As always, we’ll continue to update the links below as more photos come in from TPC San Antonio.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Ben Taylor – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Paul Barjon – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Joe Sullivan – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Wilson Furr – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Willman – SoTex PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Jimmy Stanger – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Rickie Fowler – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Harrison Endycott – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Vince Whaley – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Kevin Chappell – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Christian Bezuidenhout – WITB (mini) – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Scott Gutschewski – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
Pullout Albums
- Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Taylor with new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Swag cover – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Greyson Sigg’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Davis Riley’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Josh Teater’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hzrdus T1100 is back – – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Mark Hubbard testing ported Titleist irons – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Tyson Alexander testing new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hideki Matsuyama’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Cobra putters – 2024 Valero Texas Open
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
GolfWRX is on site in the Lone Star State this week for the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
General galleries from the putting green and range, WITBs — including Thorbjorn Olesen and Zac Blair — and several pull-out albums await.
As always, we’ll continue to update as more photos flow in. Check out links to all our photos from Houston below.
General Albums
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Monday #1
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Monday #2
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #2
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Thorbjorn Olesen – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Ben Silverman – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Jesse Droemer – SoTX PGA Section POY – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- David Lipsky – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Martin Trainer – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Zac Blair – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Jacob Bridgeman – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Trace Crowe – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Daniel Berger – WITB(very mini) – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Chesson Hadley – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Callum McNeill – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Rhein Gibson – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Patrick Fishburn – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Peter Malnati – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Raul Pereda – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Gary Woodland WITB (New driver, iron shafts) – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Padraig Harrington WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
Pullout Albums
- Tom Hoge’s custom Cameron – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Piretti putters – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Ping putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Kevin Dougherty’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Bettinardi putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Erik Barnes testing an all-black Axis1 putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Tony Finau’s new driver shaft – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
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.