Phil Mickelson won the 2009 Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles, California Sunday in heroic fashion. After watching tee shots navigate all of over the course, Mickelson recovered with back-to-back birdies and a one-stroke lead ascending into the eighteenth tee box. Mickelson two-putted for par after draining a 6-footer and finishing 1-over 72. The lefty won for the 35th time on the job.
Mickelson is now 4-0 when leading the tournament by four strokes or more going into Sunday. However, can we say that Mickelson is just a bit overrated? In my mind, he has not maintained that edge he once had because he suffocates in the "big moments." He is an underachiever in major events, mostly because he looks as if he is frightened to be in the event the majority of the time (when Tiger is in the field).
To Mickelson's credit, he has won 3 Major Tournaments in the "Tiger Era," that in itself is a large accomplishment. However, Phil cannot close out tournaments because of his short game and putting. He has had difficulties throughout his career in knocking down "the shot."
Lastly, for a guy who has all kinds of excuses, I feel as if he should win more. If statistics matter that much, Mickelson, is without a doubt, is the number two rated golfer in the world. But I tend to think otherwise because every time I watch him in the field with Tiger, it seems as if he has a choke collar on... seriously.
Nonetheless, it was a great win for Mr. Mickelson at the Northern Trust Open in California this weekend. Although it might be his last win of the year, because Tiger Woods is back, Phil made a solid recovery after looking as if he was going to construct another piece of "choke" art. Congratulations on winning the tournament Phil Mickelson, my only advice to you; buckle your seat belt, get your 3-wood out (because your driver sails golf balls every which way but straight onto the fairway), and hammer away because you are in for a ride now that Tiger is back into the field of 187.
No comments:
Post a Comment