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Guess that wasn't 100% right because just seven days later Mickelson had another meltdown, yes not to the degree of Winged Foot but one which cost him the Nissan Open. Again last week at Pebble things were easy as Mickelson came to the last hole with a five shot lead, this week at Riviera he came to the last hole with a one shot lead and pushed a drive into the left rough. From there he wasn't able to make par and went into a playoff with Charles Howell III. Over the course of three holes Mickelson had a chance to wrap things up on the second playoff hole but wasn't able to get up and down for birdie that would have won it, then on the next playoff hole he again wasn't able to get it up and down to extend the playoff, giving Howell the win.
In a way Howell's victory was great for golf because it's been four and a half years since his 2002 Michelob victory. Back then he was being heralded as the next great young thing in golf, but getting that 2nd win has been a struggle. In the 127 events between victories Howell has finished runner-up nine times, including twice in 2007 and it was only a matter of time before he had to get a bit of luck to record his second PGA Tour win.
So as the tour heads off to Tucson for the Accenture Match Play Championship, Charles Howell III enters it with a lot of momentum and the fact that he now knows how to win. As for Mickelson, who commuted on a private jet from his home in Northern San Diego at a reported cost of $10 grand a day, he again has to wonder if there is a way to trash the image of Winged Foot from the minds of not only the media, but golf fans and himself. This was a tournament that Mickelson should have won, he even had the luck of Humphrey Bogart working in his favor when a wayward second shot at 12 hit the famed sycamore tree know as the Bogart tree and instead of going out of bounds, ricocheted onto the green. Still Mickelson had a lot of loose shots go left on him and that shot on the 72nd hole on Sunday just like the shot at Winged Foot cost him again.
Keys to victory for Howell
You knew it had to come, it was only a matter of time
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In the first seven weeks of this young season, Howell has one win, two runner-up finishes and made the cut in all five of his starts. But more importantly he won at a place that he had some bad memories of, matter of fact his key shot happened on the same hole that caused him to lose the 2003 Nissan Open to Mike Weir when the Canadian made a birdie and Howell missed a short putt. Four years after that Howell was pretty much dead on the hole, after driving into the tress he wasn't able to get his second shot on. From 60 yards away Howell hit a great wedge shot to within three feet but still Mickelson was just off the green and could have gotten up and down. The shot he had was not the easiest, still Mickelson has the reputation as being the best with that little flop wedge and it wasn't the best of shots, coming up 15 feet away and missing the putt to extend the playoff. For Howell it was a big victory escaping the wrath of the tenth hole at Riviera. Here are some other keys for his victory:
- Great final round 65 got him back into contention.
- Had lady luck on his side that Mickelson made errors in the final holes to give Howell a chance to just get into a playoff.
- Played the par 5s in 12 under, led that stat
- Hit 51 of 72 greens was T3rd in that stat
- Only made six bogeys for the week
- Only had one three putt.
- made 61 of 61 putts from six feet and in. On Sunday he was 16 for 16 on putts of 8 feet or less.
- Played his final 27 holes in nine under compared to Mickelson who played them in 5 under
Howell's stats (with rank in parentheses):
Fairways hit: 29 of 56 ..... (55th) Driving average: 311.1 ..... (4th) Greens hit: 51 of 72 ....... (T3rd) Putts: 112 (28.00 a rd) .... (T31st) Putting breakdown: 0-putt greens: 0 1-putt greens: 33 2-putt greens: 38 3-putt greens: 1 Play on par 3s: Even Play on par 4s: -4 Play on par 5s: -12 Eagles: 1 Birdies: 20 ................ (T4th) Scrambling: 16 of 21 (76.19%)... (6th)
Scrambling measures how many times a player gets up and down for par or better on the holes where he missed the green in regulation.
What This Win means for Howell
- Not only does Howell take over the money lead with earnings of just over $2 million dollars, but he also is the leader of the all important FedEx cup race.
- His victory, the second of his career, is his 16th top-3 finish since joining the PGA Tour in 2000. He improves to 1-2 in playoffs, having lost earlier at the 2001 Greater Milwaukee Open and the 2003 Nissan Open.
- At the age of 27, Howell becomes just the fifth of the last 18 Nissan Open winners (dating back to 1990) to win the tournament before turning 30. The others were 1999 champion Ernie Els (29), 2001 winner Robert Allenby (29), 2005 champion Adam Scott (24) and Rory Sabbatini (29).
- With a 6-under 65, Charles Howell III has now posted 17 of 22 rounds at par or better at the Nissan Open. His victory represented his third top-10 finish of his career in six starts at the Nissan Open, to go along with a runner-up finish in 2003 and a T6 effort in 2002.
- For Howell his great final round 65, was the lowest final round by the champion since Doug Tewell shot 63 to win the 1986 Nissan Open.
Phil Mickelson - Why he lost
While Phil was on his private jet going back home, you had to wonder while he was looking out the window if maybe, just maybe he had a bit of regret over playing this week.
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This was his fifth straight week of play, the last time he played that much was in 2001 in a stretch between the Honda Classic and the Masters. But with him playing at the Accenture this week it will be six events in a row, something that he has never done in his career. You had to wonder if his play on the weekend in which he played his last 25 holes in 1 under compared to playing the first 46 holes in 15 under wasn't a case of getting mentally tired. Of course many will say it's only a game, how could you get tired but even the best can't keep up the good play week in and week out.
Here are some other keys for his loss:
- The bogey on the 72nd hole had to bring some unpleasant deja vu moments out for Phil. Just like at Winged Foot, Phil struggled with his game on the back nine only to push a drive on the 72nd hole which led to bogey and a playoff.
- Two three putts in his final ten holes of play.
- Great driving from last week at Pebble disappeared this weekend as he hit only 14 of 28 fairways.
- Mickelson was unable to get it up and down on the last two playoff holes. Also Mickelson seemed to be tired over the weekend, he played his last 26 holes in 1 under compared to playing the first 46 holes in 15 under.
Mickelson's stats (with rank in parentheses):
Fairways hit: 30 of 56 ..... (T46th) Driving average: 315.5 ..... (T3rd) Greens hit: 49 of 72 ....... (T6th) Putts: 111 (27.75 a rd) .... (T25th) Putting breakdown: 0-putt greens: 1 1-putt greens: 33 2-putt greens: 36 3-putt greens: 2 Play on par 3s: -1 Play on par 4s: -4 Play on par 5s: -11 Eagles: 1 Birdies: 21 ................ (T2nd) Scrambling: 18 of 23 (78.26%)... (5th)
Scrambling measures how many times a player gets up and down for par or better on the holes where he missed the green in regulation.
What This loss mean for Mickelson
- It's back to the drawing board to figure out why he pushes shots when under the gun and mentally tired.
- For Mickelson he had an incredible record in playoffs, going into this one with a 7-1 playoff records only losing one back in the 2000 Byron Nelson Classic to Jesper Parnevik. Since that loss he won his next seven in a row.
- Also dropped to 16 for 23 on winning with the third round lead. Since 2001 this is only the third time that he wasn't able to close the deal with the third round lead, the other two are the 2005 Doral Championship and last year's U.S. Open.
