Phil Mickelson messes up the opening round of the Farmers Insurance Open - Golf News
Phil Mіckelsоn, playing in his second event of the 2012 PGA Tour, was seen at his worst at the Farmers Insurance Open’s opening round. He mixed his two birdies with seven bogeys at the Torrey Pines Golf Course.
Torrey Pines is one of his favourite golf courses around the world, where he registered three victories in the past. However, the opening round of this year’s event proved to be a nightmare for him.
"I had some good days of practice and I was ready to play. I don't know what happened, I just wasn't able to focus,” Mickelson said.
“Obviously, I made some bad swings just in the wrong spots and so forth. But I felt like my game was ready heading in, and I don't know what to say about the score because it was pathetic,” he added.
Asked why he had trouble focusing on his game, Mickelson replied: “I just didn't put the ball where I wanted to and see it clearly. I ended up making a lot of swings where I missed the ball in the wrong spot”.
The American left hander has a good record on this course as he registered 10 top-10 finishes in the past that include three victories and two runner-up positions.
However, he seemed totally lost on Thursday, as he could not display his real game and looked as though he had lost his putting skills.
A similar situation cropped up last week when he was playing at the Humana Challenge and opened his round with a 74.
However, he managed to make a little comeback and finished tied for the 49th in the end.
At Torrey Pines, he was playing at the South Course. He expects to balance the score with some pars converting to birdies on the second day.
He will be playing on the North Course in the second round which is considerably easier compared to South.
Birdies can come easily at the North Course, especially for a player like Mickelson, who is capable of making a quick comeback in any tournament he is participating.
Mickelson said that it was really a disappointment to repeat what he did last week. However, he plans to make a very low score on Friday by playing well.
He has not been able to win the tournament since his last victory came in 2001. He will have to work hard in the remaining rounds in order to be in contention for the top position.
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