This time, Phil Mickelson got a do-over after hitting a wayward tee shot at the 72nd hole.
The next one was even worse.
A faulty driver cost Lefty his first European Tour win Sunday, as France’s Gregory Havret rallied to win the Scottish Open on the first playoff hole.
Not exactly the sort of finish Mickelson wanted heading to the 136th British Open, which begins Thursday at Carnoustie, about a two-hour drive away.
He still is trying to erase the memory of that U.S. Open meltdown at Winged Foot 13 months ago, where a terrible drive on the 72nd hole led to a double bogey – and left him one stroke behind winner Geoff Ogilvy.
“I really struggled off the tee and the back nine was a fight for me,” said Mickelson, who bogeyed three of his last five holes at Loch Lomond, including the 18th twice.
Havret qualified for his first major, clinching the win with an up-and-down from a greenside bunker. He sank a 6-footer for par in the playoff, then was doused with champagne by countryman Thomas Levet.
With a one-stroke lead going to the final hole of regulation, Mickelson drove into thick rough along the right side of the fairway. He needed a chip shot and two putts for bogey, while Havret got down in two from 15 feet to force the playoff, both players at 14-under 270 as they headed back to the tee box at 18.
Mickelson’s redo drive plopped into the shin-high reeds along the water on the left side of the fairway, forcing him to hit an awkward shot that skidded sideways back into the fairway. His third shot wound up on the fringe at the back of the green, leading to another bogey.
“I just tried to make a good swing and blocked it left,” Mickelson said. “I hit a good shot out of the swamp, but I hit the third shot way too hard.”
Mickelson, who shot a 2-under 69 in the final round, also bogeyed the 14th and 16th holes in regulation. He bounced back with birdies at the 15th and 17th.
PGA Tour: Jonathan Byrd won the John Deere Classic to qualify for the British Open, birdieing three of the final five holes for a 5-under 66 and a one-stroke victory over Tim Clark in Silvis, Ill.
It was the third PGA Tour victory for Byrd, who finished the tournament at 18-under 266 and earned $738,000. Clark closed with a 68. Third-round leader Nathan Green (71) and Troy Matteson (66) tied for third, three strokes back.
LPGA: Trailing briefly by three strokes after Morgan Pressel aced the sixth hole, Se Ri Pak regained the lead with a birdie at the 15th hole and held on to tie an LPGA record with her fifth win at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic in Sylvania, Ohio.
Pak, also the Farr winner in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2003, matched Mickey Wright, who won the Sea Island Open in 1957-58, ’60, ’62-63, and Annika Sorenstam, who has won the Samsung World Championship and Mizuno Classic five times each.
Champions Tour: R.W. Eaks, who never finished better than seventh in a PGA Tour event and was winless in 90 events over six seasons on the Champions Tour, shot a 6-under 66 to win the inaugural Dick’s Sporting Goods Open in Endicott, N.Y.
Eaks, a self-taught player from Colorado who has five runner-up finishes the past two years, completed the three rounds over the En-Joie Golf Club course at 17-under 199. He won $240,000 to push his earnings for the year past $1 million.
Nationwide Tour: BYU star Daniel Summerhays became the first amateur winner in Nationwide Tour history, closing with a 2-under 69 for a two-stroke victory in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational in Columbus, Ohio.
