{"id":62506,"date":"2018-04-07T07:39:56","date_gmt":"2018-04-07T07:39:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=62506"},"modified":"2018-04-07T07:39:56","modified_gmt":"2018-04-07T07:39:56","slug":"knowing-his-opportunities-at-the-masters-are-dwindling-phil-mickelson-rues-a-lost-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/sports\/knowing-his-opportunities-at-the-masters-are-dwindling-phil-mickelson-rues-a-lost-one.html","title":{"rendered":"Knowing his opportunities at the Masters are dwindling, Phil Mickelson rues a lost one"},"content":{"rendered":"

Knowing his opportunities at the Masters are dwindling, Phil Mickelson rues a lost one<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Phil Mickelson feels the disappointment over a poor round at the Masters a little more keenly now.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two months shy of his 48th birthday, he is hardly old. One month removed from his 43rd PGA Tour victory, he\u2019s still very much in the game.<\/span><\/p>\n

But one of the things Lefty loves most about the Masters is its history, and he is well aware it is no longer on his side. In the 81 years the Masters has been played, only six players have won it while in their 40s.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jack Nicklaus was the oldest, claiming his sixth green jacket when he was 46. Mark O\u2019Meara was the most recent, and that was 20 years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs you get older, you feel a little bit more pressure each one because you don’t feel as though you have an unlimited number of events,\u201d a somber Mickelson said after a 7-over 79 Friday that matched the worst round of his career at the Masters, where he is a three-time champio<\/span><\/p>\n

Mickelson made the cut on the number \u2014 5-over \u2014 but is 14 shots behind leader Patrick Reed.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s an uncomfortable, yet inevitable, fact of life that time takes a toll on us all. We lose strength and speed and power as we age, and Ben Crenshaw said last month that nowhere do players age faster than at Augusta National.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are the physical challenges of the monstrous and hilly course, of course. But Crenshaw, who was 43 when he won his second green jacket in 1995, said it\u2019s the nerves that are unique to the Masters that are most draining.<\/span><\/p>\n

All those chip shots onto unforgiving greens. All those putts on lines even a geometry teacher would find confusing. They add up, until one day you step on the first tee and realize you have no chance of being a factor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mickelson isn\u2019t there yet. Not even close.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to his win at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship \u2013 in a playoff, no less \u2013 Mickleson has four more top-10 finishes this season. The victory in Mexico was his fourth consecutive finish in the top six, the first time in his career he\u2019s managed that. He came to Augusta National as the No. 18 player in the world, his highest ranking in a year.<\/span><\/p>\n

And yet, he could not make his body do what his heart so desperately wanted.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t know what’s happened the last couple of days,\u201d Mickelson said. \u201cIt’s a little disappointing, because I’ve been playing so well this year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In truth, Mickelson didn\u2019t play badly so much as he played inconsistently. At one point Friday morning, in fact, he was only one stroke off the lead.<\/span><\/p>\n

But a roller-coaster stretch from Nos. 9-12 wrecked his chances.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mickelson was deep in the trees off the tee on No. 9. He thought he had enough of a gap to get close to the green, but his second shot hit a tree and went screaming back even deeper into the bushes. After a penalty stroke, he punched out to the bottom of the slope below the green.<\/span><\/p>\n

His next shot landed at the far edge of the green and wouldn\u2019t budge, and Mickelson would three-putt for a triple-bogey that put him at 3-over for the tournament.<\/span><\/p>\n

He came back with a birdie on 10, made bogey on 11, and then dunked his tee shot into the water on 12.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe was in some tough spots off the tee. And it’s not fun when you’re playing this course out of position,\u201d said Rickie Fowler, a good friend of Mickelson\u2019s and one of his playing partners the first two rounds.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s obviously one of the best at it, and he can usually create a lot of things. He ran into a tough one there at No. 9.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mickelson would make two more bogeys on 16 and 18, and he left the course uncertain of which side of the cut line he\u2019d be on when the day was done.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly put a lot of pressure on myself to perform this week,\u201d he said. \u201cI know the opportunities here are lessening and, especially given as well as I’ve been playing, I thought this was a great year, a great opportunity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s lost now, and Mickelson can’t help but wonder how many more are left to come.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/columnist\/nancy-armour\/2018\/04\/06\/knowing-his-opportunities-masters-dwindling-phil-mickelson-rues-lost-one\/495261002\/<\/span><\/p>\n

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