Phil Fires at Pebble Beach
By Andrew McKenzie
Phil Mickelson started the final round six shots off the pace of overnight leader Charlie Wi at The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am this week. But after a jump-start to his final round and a stumble from the leader, remarkably he found himself with a two-shot lead after just six holes. He was able to hold his nerve for the rest of the round firing a flawless eight under par 64, to end up winning by two shots.
From an Australian perspective it was a great week for Aaron Baddeley who fired a final round 67 to finish fourth. The next best Aussie was Steven Bowditch in a tie for 15th.
The final round saw Phil paired with Tiger Woods, who yet again had another Sunday to forget. Struggling with a ice-cold putter, Tiger capitulated during his final round, staggering to a disappointing closing 75, eleven shots arrear of the “on fire Mickelson.”
In an interesting statistic it was the ninth time out of twelve rounds that Phil has beaten Tiger when they have been paired in the same group since 2007.
This victory was Phil’s fourth at the famous Pebble Beach venue. Phil’s love affair with Pebble Beach, is again, another example of a player playing well at a particular course.
With the Masters coming up in just seven weeks at Augusta, (another course that Phil loves) I believe he poses a huge threat. For those of you interested in a punt, I like Mickelson. Obviously he has shortened significantly after the win this week. But at $11.5 I think he is far better value than Tiger at $6.5.
So will this be the start of a big 2012 for Mickelson? At 41 years of age Phil may have already played his best golf. He hasn’t played with the same consistency that we were accustomed to in the last couple of seasons. His world ranking slipped to as low as 18, prior to the victory this week.
But if there is one thing for certain about Mickelson, it’s that he is a big time player and plays his best golf on the biggest stages.
At times throughout the regular season Phil often puts in some pretty mediocre performances and can even seem a little disinterested at times. But this is a guy who knows how to prepare for a major, better than just about anyone else. He always seems to step up when it counts most.
I have on more than one occasion read about Phil deciding not to play the event prior to a major, so that he can get to the venue early, practice and play before everyone else arrives. He will spend hours around the greens to learn the undulations, slopes and map out a plot of attack for the course.
In my experience, players can go one of two ways when they are preparing for big events. They either put so much emphasis on playing well at a particular tournament and time, that when the moment final arrives, they end up succumbing to the weight of expectations and self imposed pressure. Therefore, they do not produce their best golf.
The other select few, put that same emphasis on playing well, but instead perform better. They are able to embrace the situation. They better handle the nerves, are more at ease with the tougher course set up and don’t mind the extra attention that comes with a major event. They play with more focus, heightened awareness and are able to control their emotions better than the rest of the field. Ultimately they are able to produce their best golf. Phil has proven over the years that he does just this.
Mickelson has the unique ability to take his game to a higher level during a big event. Aside from his four major victories (three of which came at Augusta) he has 13 other top 3 finishes in majors. Quite a remarkable record.
In the majors, perhaps with the exception of the British Open, he is so often there or thereabouts with a chance to win, coming down the stretch on Sunday.
I am expecting big things from Phil in the majors in 2012, particularly, The Masters. I think that he will win one of the three majors held in The U.S this year.
