Phil Mickelson stumbles on dreadful Triple-Bogey to let go of his fourth Masters title of his career
Three-time Masters’ winner Phil Mickelson came close on yet another Sunday to bag his fourth green jacket, only to fall behind the ranks with a dreadful triple-bogey on the fourth.
This is not the first time Mickelson has come close to winning a major event but losing on his favourite hunting ground was definitely a big turn-off for the burly lefty.
After carding stunning rounds on second and third days of the event, Mickelson was all set to claim the fourth Masters title on the final day.
His tee-shot found the metal railings and disappeared in the trees. Mickelson suffered a triple-bogey on par-three, 4th, ultimately losing his chances of overpowering rampaging Louis Oosthuizen and Bubba Watson.
He said, “If it goes into people and stops right there, no problem. If it goes into the grandstand, no problem. It hit the metal railing and shot in the trees. And not only was it unplayable, but I couldn’t take an unplayable. There was no place to go other than back to the tee”.
This was not something which caught the burly Mickelson by surprise. He had done his homework to tackle the notorious par-three but his shot went wayward causing him one of the biggest losses of his career. He finished tied for third behind the winner Watson and runner up Oosthuizen.
He added, “Tactically, what I try to do there is aim left of the pin and I try to hit either the left edge or in the bunker or just left of the bunker where I’m chipping up the green, chipping into the slope,” Mickelson said. “Usually I can get that up and down”.
This was the fifth time in his grizzled career that Mickelson has finished for a joint third in the coveted event. He has won it three times and never finished runner up.
Apart from Masters, Mickelson’s unfortunate bids in other major events are also noteworthy where the 41-year-old American has suffered badly.
He has five runners up finishes at the US Open and has never gone over to win the elusive title.
He has one runners up finish in the Open Championship, including his bid last year and has never won the title.
The lanky American hopes to pull in 50 PGA Tour victories before calling it a day at mainstream PGA.
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