Phil Mickelson made a mess of his final hole in the second round of the Phoenix Open, costing him another shot at history.
A day after his putt for a 59 curled 180 degrees and stay out, Lefty missed a chance to break the PGA Tour’s 36-hole scoring record Friday when he finished with a double bogey in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“You always remember kind of the last hole, the last putt,” Mickelson said. “But I think it’s very possible that’s going to help me because it’s got me refocused, that I cannot ease up on a single shot. I’ve got to be really focused. These guys are going to make a lot of birdies and I’ve got to get after it and cannot make those kinds of mistakes.”
Mickelson followed his opening 60 with a 65 to reach 17-under 125, a stroke off the tour record for the first two rounds of a tournament set by Pat Perez in the 2009 Bob Hope Classic and matched by David Toms at Colonial in 2011.
“Unfortunately, I made a double on the last hole and didn’t finish the way I wanted to,” Mickelson said. “But I think it’s a good example of what can happen on this course. You can make a lot of birdies and eagles, make up a lot of ground, but there’s a lot of water and trouble there that if you misstep you can easily make bogeys and double.”
Mickelson’s drive on No. 18 bounced into the left-side water hazard and, after a penalty drop, he still had a chance to get up and down for par and the record.
But he didn’t get enough on his approach shot, with the ball landing on the green and rolling off the front edge. His chip got away from him a bit, running 7 feet past, and his bogey putt slid by to the left, leaving him with a share of the Phoenix Open 36-hole record set by Mark Calcavecchia in 2001.
The double bogey left him four strokes ahead of Bill Haas and five in front of Keegan Bradley and Brandt Snedeker.
Haas shot a 64, Bradley 63, and Snedeker 66.
Mickelson will play alongside Haas and Bradley in the third round.
“Bill and I have played on a Presidents Cup team, and Keegan and I have been partners in the Ryder Cup and had an incredibly emotional and fun experience together as partners,” Mickelson said. “We’re going to have a fun day tomorrow.”
CHIP SHOTS
Overnight leader Richard Sterne made a birdie on the 18th hole to take a one-shot lead over Thorbjorn Olesen and two others after the second round of the Dubai Desert Classic. …The Tournament of Hope, a South African event which was to have prize money of $8.5 million, has been indefinitely postponed after failing to secure sponsorship.
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