Rusty Mickelson finds silver lining after two tough rounds  PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents BETHESDA, Md. -- Phil Mickelson knew he would be a little rusty.  (WireImage)
He'd only played two competitive rounds since winning THE PLAYERS Championship in May. And those came at the U.S. Open where he missed the cut while nursing the wrist he injured hitting from the rough during a practice round at Oakmont. At times this week at Congressional Country Club, Mickelson showed sparks of the form that lifted him to two victories earlier this season. He just didn't hit enough good shots to keep him around for the weekend at the AT&T National. For a while, though, Mickelson appeared primed to extend his stay in this Washington, D.C. suburb. That is, until he came to the 16th hole on Friday. He was 3 over for the tournament and 1 under for the day at the time. Mickelson's second shot sailed well right and settled at the base of a tree near a fence on an adjacent hole. He took a penalty and hit his next shot behind a grandstand where he got a free drop for line of site. Mickelson's fifth shot on the par 5 plopped into the dense rough on the hill beside the green. He then flipped a wedge to 3 feet and made the putt for double bogey. Mickelson's travails weren't over, though. He hit his second shot into the water beside the 18th green to finish with a double bogey and a 73 that, combined with his opening 74, left him three strokes shy of making the cut. "I didn't putt very well the first day and gave a lot of shots back on the greens, and today I felt like I hit some decent shots," he said. "But coming down the stretch, I let it go there in the end and that was too bad of a finish for me. "I knew I would be a little rusty heading into this week. I knew I wasn't quite sharp. "It was important that I get in some competitive rounds. I was hoping to get two more. I'll head over and play the Scottish Open and try to get in a good competitive frame of mind for the British (Open)." Mickelson only hit 12 of 28 fairways and 20 of 36 greens at Congressional this week. His wrist didn't really bother him, though -- he played without the black brace he'd used at Oakmont -- and he was relatively upbeat after finishing his round.
"Guys have won majors after missing the cut," Mickelson said. "This year I missed the cut and ended up winning AT&T (Pebble Beach National Pro-Am) the next week. You can find it overnight. "But I knew coming in here I was a little rusty. The penalty for a miss-hit shot is severe, which is great. It's just that I wasn't really sharp and I was missing more fairways and more shots than probably the other guys." Still, Mickelson managed to find the silver lining. He and his wife were invited to the White House on July 4th for dinner. Among the people he met there was Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice --- Mickelson says he's a "big fan" of hers -- and she was in his gallery on Friday. "This has been a fun few days for our family," he said. "I obviously wish I had played better. I didn't expect to not be here on the weekend, but we had a great couple of days. We had a chance to spend the Fourth of July at the White House with a number of wonderful and amazing people who have done so much for the country. And so we were very appreciative to be able to come here. "I love the fact that we have a golf tournament here that is being hosted by Tiger and is making a huge impact on the community here, huge impact on the military, and I just love being a part of it." |
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