Phil Mickelson confident about 2011 after finishing second at Torrey Pines
Victory narrowly evaded American golfer Phil Mickelson at the 2011 Farmers Insurance Open last weekend, as he finished second at Torrey Pines, but he is still confident about the 2011 season and hopes to perform well in the events to follow. Despite 2010 being the year of the latest generation of golfers, it is only a matter of time before Mickelson, also known as lefty, comes out with all clubs putting.
On Sunday, Bubba Watson shocked the onlooking crowd and fellow players alike, as it all came down to the 18th hole. With Watson scoring a birdie on the 18th hole, Mickelson had to produce an eagle to secure victory. Evidently, the 2010 Masters winner subdued under pressure and could not score an eagle to force Bubba into a play-off; thus, handing victory to the latter.
Mickelson was also watched by his wife Amy, who was present on the final day of the event to witness her husband’s triumph for the first time since she had been diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2009.
Mickelson, himself, was diagnosed with Arthritis in August 2010 and that certainly hindered the player’s performance. Turning 41 in June, Mickelson still feels young and believes in himself. The last time Phil won a tournament was 10 months back, when he won the Masters in April. In 2010, Mickelson also finished second at the Wells Fargo Championship and tied at the fifth and fourth spots at the Memorial and US Open respectively. Having occupied the number two position for quite some time during last year lefty had more than 12 opportunities to become the world number one player. However, Mickelson could not avail any of them and the opportunity came knocking on Lee Westwood’s door. As a result, Westwood replaced Tiger Woods as the top ranked player on 31 October 2010.
Putting all disappointments and regrets behind, Mickelson is excited for 2011.
"I think that 2011 has the potential to be what I expected 2010 to be. So I'm going to continue to work on my game and see if I can have a great year. Again, the great thing or the thing I'm most excited about is I'm not making any changes. I'm kind of done making changes in my game and I'm trying to hit shots now,” said Mickelson.
The 2011 Waste Management Phoenix Open will feature both Phil and Watson up against each other. It usually takes Mickelson couple of events to get going, but that definitely has not been the case this year. He finished at three-under or better in all four rounds last week and is a favourite to win the Phoenix Open, having won it previously in 1996 and 2005.
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