Hoylake, England – With little hope remaining of winning his second major championship of the season, Phil Mickelson on Saturday gave his strongest indication yet that he’s planning on being in Colorado in three weeks when the PGA Tour makes its local stop.
“I just want to play a good round and move on to the PGA (Championship). I’ll play The International before that – we’ll start getting ready for that shortly after this,” Mickelson said following his third-round 73 at the British Open.
A two-time winner at Castle Pines Golf Club, Mickelson entered the British Open hoping to redeem himself after last month’s disastrous finish at the U.S. Open; however, he never really got it going at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. Beginning Saturday at 4-under-par 140, the left-hander had a horrendous end to his front nine, bogeying the seventh, eighth and ninth holes. He fell even further off the pace with another bogey at the 456-yard, par-4 14th – his third of the week there.
Mickelson did birdie the 554-yard, par-5 16th, then ended his day with an eagle on the 560-yard, par-5 18th.
“After I was 3-over after nine and realized the chances of winning weren’t there, I just wanted to play well,” Mickelson said. “The last three holes, finishing birdie, par, eagle were good but not quite enough. I’m going to go out tomorrow and see if I can go low and put together a good round.”
Count me in, too
One person who’s looking forward to Mickelson’s return to The International is his caddie, Jim Mackay, even if the Aug. 10-13 tournament is “the most difficult place on the tour to caddie by far.”
“There’s some serious caddie grinding going on there,” said Mackay, who’s commonly known as “Bones.”
“There’s the altitude, and you’re often playing in some very warm temperatures. But Denver is arguably my favorite city on tour to go to because it’s such a beautiful place. But it’s definitely a tough week for the guys carrying the bags.”
Getting a mental edge
Moments before going to the first tee in his third-round pairing with Tiger Woods, Ernie Els could be found on the putting green, with something of a strange appendage attached to his ear: sports psychologist Bob Rotella.
As Els went about his paces, he couldn’t make a stroke. it seemed, without the renowned mental guru offering a whispered aside.
“It’s not really what I would call reinforcement; that’s not quite the right word,” Rotella said after Els had completed a 1-under 71. “We’re definitely going over things, but it’s really just to make sure he’s having fun and embracing the challenge.”
Entering the Open, Els was lamenting his putting stroke, saying it was a big reason he was winless on the PGA Tour this season. During the British, Els has averaged a little more than 28 putts per round.
Give him some love
One player in need of a hug Saturday evening was David Duval. The Cherry Hills Village resident dropped from a tie for 22nd to a tie for 64th following his third-round 78.
Each day, Duval has played with a photograph of his son Brayden taped to his golf bag. In assessing his play Saturday, which featured numerous adventures in the Royal Liverpool bunkers, Duval said, “Brady likes to play in the sand a lot. I guess I was thinking of him.”
Footnote
Brandt Jobe shot a 3-over 75, finishing the third round at 1-under.
