Can Phil Mickelson Bounce Back In Time For The PGA Championship?

Had Mickelson won last week at the Bridgestone Invitational he would be the clear front-runner heading into this week’s PGA Championship.

Had Mickelson finished his round with four straight pars and in third place, he would still be a front-runner this week.

But the fact that Mickelson was tied for the lead heading into the 15^th hole on Sunday, and then proceeded to bogey three out of the last four holes makes me somewhat apprehensive labeling Mickelson as a favorite in the season’s final major. 

Mickelson held a share of the lead with four holes to play Sunday. 

The co-leader, Vijay Sing could not hit the broad side of a barn with his putter on the back nine, and if Mickelson had played the final four holes at one-under he would have won his first WGC.

Had Mickelson played the final four holes at even-par he would have forced a playoff with Sing, the outcome of which would have looked bright for Mickelson being that Vijay’s putter was somewhere off on another planet. 

But, no, as we have seen time and time again, Mickelson could not hold it together down the stretch.

Mickelson bogeyed fifteen, missed a five-foot birdie putt on sixteen that would have made him the sole leader, and then bogeyed seventeen and eighteen. This was in a round that saw Mickelson play bogey-free golf through fourteen holes.

Mickelson’s meltdown last week was no where near Winged Foot-esque proportions, but it was indeed a meltdown. 

For the number two player in the world to head into the final four holes with a share of the lead only to bogey three out of those four holes, and finish in a tie for third is indeed a meltdown by anyone’s standards.

But, despite Mickelson’s meltdown, his play at the Bridgestone Invitational can be viewed in a positive light. 

Mickelson played his best golf in a long time, making only seven bogeys over four rounds and hitting 72.2% of greens in regulation. 

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