Big swirling “lefty” Phil Mickelson shoots back in contention with a strong second round in Masters
Phil Mickelson is back in contention after a solid four-under, 68 on the second day of the Masters and is now contemplating of acquiring lead in the third round over the weekend.
The 41-year-olf “Lefty” who succumbed to a high of 74 on the opening day, has now resurfaced in the top echelons of the leaderboard, pulling in a highly technical round to tame the vicious Augusta National.
Mickelson started off the day with two consecutive birdies on third and fourth before he fell for the first bogey of the day at par-four, 5th.
He managed to finish the front nine even-par and made the turn to fall for yet another bogey at 11th. He gathered his stellar putting techniques to pull four birdies on the closing holes to shoot back in contention including a birdie on the 18th.
He is now three shots off the lead, tied for 11th. He said, “I played well and shot something in the 60s that got me back in the tournament. I was hoping for one or two more under, but that birdie on 18 felt terrific to finish that way”.
Mickelson is aiming high for the third round on Saturday and hopes that if all goes well he will be right back in contention for the fourth green jacket of his grizzled career.
He added, “I feel like Saturday is the day you can really make a move. Tomorrow will be a critical day. If I make a move, they get to see those numbers being posted ahead of them, and that’s not always easy”.
Mickelson, who is known from a sloppy start in the opening rounds, utilised his tons of experience to manoeuvre his way through the tricky Augusta National.
Interestingly, Mickelson changed his tactics and decided to guide his poor shot in places where he can actually bring his short game into play to save pars.
For the moment, the tactic seems to work just fine for the three-time Masters winner.
The burly American is coming out of a strong week after winning the AT & T Pebble Beach Pro Am and another strong runner up finish in Northern Trust Open on PGA.
He is among the handful of players in the field who have gone over to win the title on multiple occasions.
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