Mickelson surges into contention in Pebble Pro-Am with Friday 65
Phil Mickelson wants one for the thumb at Pebble Beach, and he took one step closer to a fifth win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Friday.
Mickelson shot 6-under 65 on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club to trail co-leaders Sung Kang and Hiroshi Iwata by a shot at 10 under par through two rounds.
However, Mickelson probably thought he was going to shoot a much lower number — one closer to the 60 Kang put up on the same course on Friday. Mickelson went out in 29 on the par-34 front side, then eagled the par-5 10th. He played in 1 over the rest of the way, despite the back side playing to a par of 37, including three total par 5s. It is the tougher of the two sides.
“I thought I was going to shoot a lot lower than I did,” Mickelson said. “I was 7 under (through 10 holes); I didn’t expect to play 1 over coming in.”
The bad news is that Mickelson’s finish continues what is officially a trend in 2016, with the five-time major winner getting off to a hot first nine, 10, 12 holes, then flopping — in a bad way — at the end.
The good news is that Mickelson has settled on a driver for the remaining two rounds. After deciding to swap out a driver for the opening round and not liking the results, he went back to his other Callaway driver. The results were a lot better.
“(This) one goes straight,” Mickelson said, “and (the other) one goes the other way.”
Mickelson, who goes to play Pebble Beach on Saturday, not only feels good about his game, but he also has a great relationship with this event. Perhaps the combination will lead him to his first PGA Tour win in nearly three years on Sunday.
“I love this tournament. I love the golf courses, some of the best in the world,” Mickelson said. “But I love everything about this tournament.”
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
LISTEN TO OUR WEEKLY GOLF PODCAST! This week: How will the Big Four adjust to superstardom?
