Mickelson’s antics draw penalty in disastrous round

drawing a two-stroke penalty for a score of 10.

He finished 11 over par with an 81 and is 17 over for the tournament.

Mickelson later insisted his maneuver strictly was strategic, not a result of mounting frustration, and he rejected the notion the incident might harm his reputation.

“I don’t see how,” he said. “If somebody’s offended by that, I apologize to them, but toughen up. It’s not meant that way. I simply wanted to get onto the next hole.”

Mickelson’s bogey putt on the par-4 13th missed right, rolling off toward parts unknown. He jogged to catch up to it, then swatted the ball back uphill and nearly holed it. That was shot No. 6. After that his putt for triple-bogey lipped out, he tapped in for an eight — plus the two-stroke penalty.

“The ball was going to go off in a bad spot,” he said. “I didn’t feel like continuing my display, and I’ll gladly take the two-shot penalty and move on.”

John Bodenhamer, the United States Golf Association’s senior managing director of championships and governance, said Mickelson was penalized under Rule 14-5, which forbids hitting a moving ball.

After the hole, Mickelson was seen laughing with his playing partner, Andrew “Beef” Johnston, who shot 82 in the third round.

“I looked at him and I was like, ‘Is this actually happening?’ ” Johnston said. “I looked at him and I said, ‘Sorry, but I can’t help but laugh at that.’ It’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen … It’s something you might see at your home course with your mates or something. I think it’s just a moment of madness.”

Grimmer at 13 over

Only three golfers finished under par, and Will Grimmer of Ohio State was certainly not among them. He shot an 8-over 78 that included three double bogeys and only one hole under par. He stands at 13 over for the tournament and still has a shot to finish with the lowest score among the three amateurs who made the cut. The others, Luis Gagne and Matt Parziale, stand at 11 over.