Phil Mickelson two short off the lead at the Shell Houston Open
Phil Mickelson, the defending champion and the first round leader at the Shell Houston Open, carded a two-under par 70 in the second round to finish two strokes off the lead set by Brian Davis and Louis Oosthuizen.
Mickelson started his round at a seven-under par overall score. A couple of birdies on the 10th and 13th hole took him to nine-under.
Afterwards, he carded two birdies against two bogeys to remain at the same score.
Mickelson said that his performance in the round was satisfactory. However, he should have avoided the bogey that came on the last hole of the day.
Moreover, finishing two strokes off the lead is not a bad score and he is still in contention for successfully defending his title at the Redstone Golf Club Tournament Course in Humble, Texas.
Yet, he believes that he could have managed to score better as he missed a couple of birdie putts.
"I played pretty well the second round, but I didn't get the score that I had hoped," Mickelson said. "I've got to light it up this weekend".
He was playing along with the legendary Fred Couples, who is currently at a four-under for the two rounds he has played so far.
According to Mickelson, he prefers to play the Houston Open, as it is scheduled just one week before the Masters Tournament.
This is why, he plans to get that chance to tune up his game and get into a "competitive frame of mind" prior to the first major event of the year.
On the other hand, Davis is hopeful to register his first career win at the Houston Open. It is his seventh year on the tour and he has not been able to record a victory so far.
"Obviously, I'm well aware that I need to start winning," Davis said. "It's one of those things where you can't force it. You've just got to keep putting yourself in position".
Therefore, it is a good chance for him to earn one here, which will also allow him to get an invitation for the Masters Tournament scheduled to be staged in the first week of April.
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