Fox Sports reports on Phil’s zany 3-under 69 that included a whiff. You read that right…a whiff on a flop shot. Leave it to Phil to find a new way to give his fans apoplexy. Form the article:
Despite birdies on the 13th and 14th to keep him in the race with Els, it was a par that turned the tournament in his favor.
“Mickelson was left of the 288-yard 16th green [sic] in short rough, a pot bunker separating him from the flag. Mickelson went for a high flop shot, and was stunned when the club slid through the grass and barely moved the ball.
He tried a bump-and-run that came up short and appeared destined to make bogey. His putt came off the hump of the green, and Mickelson pointed to the cup with his putter as it took one last turn to the left and dropped for par.
“I thought that was one of the best putts I’ve made in a long time,” Mickelson said. “When I made that putt – I didn’t know what Ernie was doing on 18 – but I knew I had a chance.”
And, once again, Tiger Woods was involved in a spat with a photographer. From the article:
“Woods couldn’t wait to get out of China, where he had finished second his previous two trips to the HSBC Champions.
“Anything that could go wrong went wrong for me today,” Woods said.
Starting the round two shots behind, and playing in the final group with his chief nemesis for the first time in more than four years, Woods missed a 4-foot birdie putt on the second hole and a 10-foot birdie on the third. He followed that by hitting his tee shot into the water on the fourth for double bogey.
Then came a camera click on his tee shot at the seventh, leading security officials to rip manhandle one spectator back inside the ropes, and temporarily strip the credentials from a news photographer who they thought had taken the picture early. He eventually was allowed to stay on the job.”
