The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Poor start dooms Mickelson’s second round; says he’d return
CROMWELL — Just three shots off the firstround lead at the Travelers Championship, Phil Mickelson stepped up to the 10th tee to begin his round Friday morning confident he had a run at the lead in him.
Mickelson’s tee shot wound up out of bounds, and, well, so much for that run.
Three bogeys and two double bogeys on his first eight holes sealed Mickelson’s fate Friday. A champion twice here, Mickelson missed the cut at 3-overpar.
“It happened at Memorial, too, (earlier this month),” Mickelson said. “I was in contention after the first round, had a good first round, and my first shot hits the cart path on 10 at Memorial and goes out of bounds. Same thing here.”
Mickelson birdied the 18th hole, his ninth of the day, and parred every hole from there on.
Still, he said it might not take another 16 years for him to return to TPC River Highlands.
“I think so,” said Mickelson, who turned 49 last week, of a possible return. “I really like the course, and given the way the schedule is, with it being difficult for me to play the weeks before majors, there is a good chance I’ll start playing weeks after.”
The 19th and 21st of Mickelson’s 44 PGA Tour championships came in Cromwell, in 2001 and 2002 at what was then called the Greater Hartford Open. He played here again the next year but hadn’t been back, though he was a late withdrawal in 2007 with a wrist injury.
After tying for 52nd last week at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach — he won No. 44 in February at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am — Mickelson said he was excited to play here, came out with energy, shot a 67.
Friday’s round, in occasional rain, didn’t follow it up. He made bogey out of the bunker in front of the green on No. 11, bogeyed 13 after his second shot went way left, three-putted from 6 feet on 16, was left off the tee and put his second shot in the water on 17.
“I really keyed in on something about 10 days ago,” Mickelson said. “After some of those shots I hit, the way I struck it yesterday, I thought I was going to have a really good day and get myself in contention, so that front nine kind of threw me for a loop.
“It doesn’t feel anywhere near as bad as it did a couple of months ago. I feel like I’m a lot closer, but this is a disappointing day for me.”
Playing partner Jordan Spieth didn’t get on any kind of roll, either, turning in a couple of early birdies Friday but giving them back later. He missed the cut, too. Marc Leishman, the 2012 Travelers champion, had a couple of birdies on the first nine, too, but bogeyed a couple on the next nine; at least he made the cut at 4-under.
“I thought the course was very gettable,” Mickelson said. “I thought it was in great shape. It handled the rain very well. Guys that played well and played smart, strategic golf could still shoot something in the mid-60s and have a good day. You saw Jason Day (7-under 63) do it.
“It’s a little disappointing, because I really felt like my game was coming around. This is a good golf course for my game, too. I just unfortunately didn’t put it together.”