British Open starts road to recovery for Lefty
Mickelson says he won't let U.S. Open collapse affect him in future majors
 Jamie Squire / Getty Images file Phil Mickelson's double bogey on the final hole of last month's U.S. Open cost him a chance at going for his fourth straight major title in the British Open. |
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Arnold Palmer was watching the final round of the U.S. Open on television, and it all looked so familiar.
A simple par on the 18th hole was all he needed to capture a major championship that would put him in the record books. What followed was a comedy of errors that turned into a double bogey, a collapse that left his adoring gallery stunned.
That was Phil Mickelson at Winged Foot.
And except for a few minor details and a change in scenery, it was Palmer at the 1961 Masters.
The King was in the middle of the 18th fairway with a 7-iron in his hand, poised to become the first back-to-back winner at Augusta National. A rare lapse in concentration led to a bad shot, compounded by Arnie being Arnie. Instead of playing it safe out of the bunker, he went at the flag and bladed his shot over the green, making double bogey.
“There were no bad breaks at all, just bad judgment,” Palmer said from his office in Latrobe, Pa. “George Lowe, an old buddy, was on the sidelines and motioned me over. When someone does that, particularly in a situation like that, I’m so concentrating on what I’m doing that I’d wave and keep going. But he put his hand out and I shook his hand. And from that moment, my mind was scrambled eggs.”
In a matter of minutes, Palmer was at the awards ceremony accepting the silver medal. The green jacket went to Gary Player.
“That was a tough one for me,” Palmer said. “I wanted a couple of things very badly, and one of them was to win two in a row. And it never happened. That rested hard, no question about it.”
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Making par on the 18th hole at Winged Foot was no picnic, especially after Lefty’s tee shot caromed through the trees and off a corporate tent. Then came the 3-iron that he meant to carve around a tree, but hit smack into it. That was followed by a plugged lie in the bunker to a green tilting away from him. Just like that, Mickelson became known for five words he uttered in disbelief:
“I am such an idiot.”
Palmer knows better than most what it’s like to blow a major. Along with the ’61 Masters, his most infamous collapse came at the ’66 U.S. Open at Olympic Club, where he blew a seven-shot lead while trying to set a scoring record, then lost to Billy Casper in a playoff.
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“I think Phil was just being Phil,” Palmer said. “To tell someone what I think about what happened is difficult because I can’t tell watching television what’s really happening. I couldn’t see the lie or what the line was or what he had to shoot for. And if I was sitting there in the same spot, what would I have done? I probably would have done the same thing.”
The hangover didn’t last long. Palmer won his second British Open a few months later at Royal Birkdale, then added two more green jackets and a claret jug over the next three years.
He expects no less from Mickelson.
“I think Phil will come back very strong in his quest to continue winning and playing good golf,” Palmer said.
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Now, he’s starting over.
After taking his oldest daughter to Disneyland for her birthday — Amanda was born the day after Mickelson lost the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in a more conventional fashion, missing two putts inside 8 feet over the last three holes — he headed for Hoylake to start cramming for his next major exam.
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