American Phil Mickelson wins Shell Houston Open – Golf news
Phil Mickelson of US won the Shell Houston Open at the par-72 Redstone Golf Club in Houston, Texas on Sunday.
This is Mickelson’s 39th PGA Tour victory after which he has also bagged 500 FedEx points along with US $1.044 million as winner’s prize money.
Mickelson started Sunday with an aggregate of 13-under par after scoring a glorious 63 in the third round. He teed off from the front nine of the course and chipped in for a birdie at the opening hole. The attack at the pin at the start of the day predicted
an unusual round approaching the scorecard of the American who had not won a title since the 2010 Masters.
The 40-year-old veteran bogeyed the next two holes, but soon countered them with three birdies. Mickelson wrapped the front half with a score of 2-under par, which pushed him into a tie with Steve Stricker.
Soon after, Mickelson marched towards the back and successfully matched the Saturday record of nine birdies and broke free from the tie. He birdied all the holes on the back except three and surged into lead to take a three-stroke edge over Chris Kirk and
Scott Verplank.
Mickelson, who has been gearing up to defend his title at the Masters, was extremely pleased with his game. He said that he had been preparing hard to bring back the pace with which he won the 2010 Masters and was now looking forward to the first major championship
of 2011.
He stated, “I've been saying all year, 'I'm playing well, but I'm not getting the scores out of it, and I'm just kind of having a lapse of focus. It was a great week in that regard, and great for getting momentum heading in next week. I am just trying to
get my game in shape. I've got to keep my focus at Augusta because that course can be very penalizing.”
Mickelson will now proceed to the Augusta National for the Masters with an eye on his fourth green jacket and a third place in the World Golf Rankings.
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