Lefty tees it up with memories of missed 59 fresh on his mind
Phil Mickelson was a fraction of an inch away from shooting 59 in his 2013 Waste Management Phoenix Open victory. Playing partners Justin Thomas and Adam Hadwin are the latest members of the 59 club and Thomas was plotting some good-natured ribbing at Lefty’s expense.
“There will be some point where he will say something about how many majors he’s won and this and that and I will just ask him how many times he shot 59 in a competitive round,” Thomas said Wednesday, the day before the start of play at rowdy TPC Scottsdale.
“Then he will probably say something else about all the other majors he’s won and I won’t have anything to say. There are not many things I have on Phil, but that’s one of them. I will make sure to remind him.”
Mickelson will be quick to point out his three victories in the event.
“Yeah, they’ve both shot 59,” Mickelson said. “I’m envious of that. I really am. But I have won this tournament three times and they haven’t. We both have something to be jealous about.”
Four years ago, closing on the par4 ninth, Mickelson’s 25-foot birdie try for 59 caught the edge of the cup, curled 180 degrees to the other side of the hole and stayed out.
“That would have been a special moment,” Mickelson said. “Just like the putt on the final hole at the British Open last year to shoot the lowest round in any major would have meant something. You don’t get those opportunities very often. ... Both of them, I’m still in disbelief they didn’t go in.”
The 23-year-old Thomas is coming off a two-week break after sweeping two events in Hawaii. He has won three of his last five PGA Tour starts, also successfully defending his title in Malaysia in October, but lost some of his edge during the layoff.
“It’s OK. It’s not as good as I’d like it to be, to be honest,” Thomas said. “I took a week off completely like I always do when I have two weeks off and then just getting back into it, it took me a little longer than I would have liked.”
Thomas opened the Sony Open with a 59 and was 49 under over his two weeks in Hawaii. He’s trying to become the first player to win three consecutive PGA Tour events since Rory McIlroy in 2014.
“I like the golf course,” Thomas said. “It’s in perfect shape. It’s pristine. The fairways are firm and fast. The greens are firm. It’s a great test of golf, an unbelievable field. It should be a fun week to watch. ... It’s totally different than every other tournament we play in terms of atmosphere and crowds.”
The 46-year-old Mickelson is playing the third of five straight weeks in his return from two sports hernia surgeries. He tied for 21st two weeks ago in La Quinta, Calif., and tied for 14th last week at Torrey Pines in San Diego.
“Knowing that I wasn’t going to be 100 per cent, to play the way I have the last couple of weeks gives me a lot of confidence heading into these few weeks,” Mickelson said. “It has more to do with the way last year went and getting the swing and the changes done last year, so that this year there aren’t any.”