Phil Mickelson, left, is consoled by his caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay on the 18th green of the Pebble Beach Golf Links during the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016, in…
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Another close call only whetted his appetite and heightened his sense of determination, a term that he continued to circle back to during post-round comments.
Still, it’s his worst finish on the PGA Tour since being cut at the Deutsche Bank Championship five months ago. He has done it at least once in 20 of the past 21 seasons. He doubled over in disbelief and would have to settle for second place.
Yes, that’s life in the other world of golf. He understands when a loss is so debilitating that it will keep him bedridden for days afterward and when one is so encouraging that it will motivate him to race to the driving range the next morning.
But Mickelson already looked shaky on some shorts putts, misfiring on four from 8 to 10 feet, and he powered the birdie putt hard enough onto the edge of the hole for it to spin out.
So, with a family and after the boating accident, it’s understandable why after his victory, Taylor would say, “I’m so thankful, so lucky to be here”. I didn’t know if it would ever happen again.
This wasn’t some sort of spin control or putting on a happy face for the cameras. Taylor shot a 70 (-2) in round one, a 68 (-4) in round two, and a 67 (-5) in round three.
The golf gods were with him, which is usually the situation for champions. It wouldn’t have passed any sort of momentous benchmark. He earned $1.26 million for his third PGA Tour victory and rose to No. 100 in the world. Iwata was second for the week in birdies (22) despite being T52 in GIR (43/72), but also, first in putts per GIR at 1.535. Weather was great, I enjoyed everything about it. I’ve heard all the negatives from all the players throughout the years and I didn’t experience one of them.
“Now I’m playing in the Masters soon”. There’s so many people that have helped me get here. “I love that pressure, and it’s been a while since I felt that”. Where he started to get going was at No. 13, where he posted the first of four consecutive birdies.
By then, Taylor, ranked 447th in the world, owned a two-shot lead, with little happening behind him – until Mickelson discovered the inspiration that eluded him most of the day.
But all that was forgotten in the glow of a superb victory that gets his career right back on track. I lost a lot of confidence. “I just kept working, grinding and kept at it. And I can’t believe it actually happened today”. Because I know where I’m playing.
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“I think I need to learn Pebble a bit more, a bit better”, he said.
