Waste Management Phoenix Open, Wire to Wire Win For Phil

Phil Mickleson / Martin / Getty Images

Phil Mickleson won the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale by four shots, going wire to wire for a dominating victory. Phil’s final score was -28 under par, after he rounded out his tournament with a -4 under par 67 last round. With this win Phil moved to No. 3 in the race for the FedEx Cup after earning 500 points for his victory at TPC Scottsdale. Phil said how important the win was for him;

” It’s an important one for me, because it’s been a while since I won, been a while since I’ve been in contention, I was certainly nervous heading into today. I think the thing I’m most excited about was the way I was able to regain control of my thoughts after a few shots early on that I didn’t care for. I think that sets up the tone for the rest of the year, because I really started to play well, but for me, the rest of the year took a turn on Tuesday when I got my new driver. It just changed my whole deal.”

Brandt Snedeker finished in second place with a total score of -24 under par, his last round effort of -6 under par was not quite enough to bother Phil.

Brandt said that Phil had played unbelievable golf;

Brandt Snedeker / Helen Ross PGATOUR.COM

“It was a ton of fun, to be in the last group with Phil and kind of trade birdie for birdie and make up some ground was a lot of fun. It’s what we play for. I wish I could have put some more pressure on him and got a little closer than I did today, but I think I shot 12 under par on the weekend and made one bogey. Sometimes you have to tip your hat and say Phil played unbelievable and deserved to win, and that’s kind of what this week was all about. I feel like I’m running into the Hall of Famers every week, it would be nice if they weren’t in the field and I could go ahead and go after it. It’s just tough, you know. It was fun to watch, fun to be part of, you want to win those, and hopefully I will soon.”

 

Scott Piercy finished in third place after he fired the best round of the last day, a -10 under par 61, that elevated him up the leaderboard to finish with a total of -23 under par for the tournament. Scott really liked the TPC Scottsdale greens;

“These greens were amazing, if you got it online, rolling, you made it.”

Waste Management Phoenix open, Phil the People Person.

Phil Mickelson / Martin / Getty Images

Phil Mickelson drew the loudest cheers from the biggest crowd in golf history on Saturday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, on the TPC Scottsdale course. Phil nearly aced the par-3 16th, hitting a 9-iron to within a foot of the hole, to set up a birdie on the rowdy stadium hole packed with nearly 20,000 screaming fans, on his way to a -7 under par third round of 64, and to lead the tournament at -24 under par. Of his nine iron into the 16th Phil calmly stated;

“What’s funny about that is 172 yards is a very tough 9-iron for me to get there, but I immediately take 5 yards off and in my head I had 167. The reason is you always have a little bit of adrenaline here, and the ball goes a little bit longer on 16. I played for a 167-yard shot and tried to hit just a comfortable or stock 9-iron, and the ball ended up flying that far and released to the hole. Having played this course and that hole over the years and knowing what your body does and how to adjust to it has helped me, and certainly it did today.”

Brandt Snedeker is in second place, Brandt had a third round of -6 under par 65, to be six shots behind Phil at -18 under par for the tournament. Phil is aware of Brandt’s capabilities and is looking to just keep pace with him tomorrow to cruise home to a wire to wire victory;

“I know how good Snedeker is and how hot he can get with a putter, he can make birdie from just about anywhere. He’s going to make a run tomorrow. I, hopefully, will be able to keep pace. To me, the wire-to-wire isn’t that important except for now I’m three rounds and the fourth one is kind of the more important one. It would be an important thing because it’s meant so much to me over my career having won this tournament, coming back as a past champion, and winning here in the town that has meant so much to me, to Amy and I, where we met, had our first two kids, went to college. It’s a special place.”

Brandt thinks Phil is playing unbelievable golf;

” Phil is playing pretty unbelievable, I will have to go at some pins and make some putts early and be more aggressive than I probably normally would be.”

Padraig Harrington and Ryan Moore are tied in third place at -16 under par, eight strokes off the pace, Padraig is still happy with his game though;

“I feel like I’m in a good place with the game.”

Padraig had some fun out there on the sixteenth, kicking footballs into the crowd;

“I did not want to screw up the first one along the ground, for sure, I did want to get it airborne a little bit of distance. I found when I punted it, the first three or four, I hooked them quite a bit, and then the last one, I actually made sweet contact and kicked it over the stand, actually cleared the whole thing.”

Looks like it will be the crowd favorite Phil Mickelson lifting the trophy tomorrow, good luck Phil.

 

 

Waste Management Phoenix Open, It’s Phil The Real Deal

Phil Mickelson / Stan Bedz / Getty Images

Phil Mickelson proved the first round 60 was no fluke as he followed that up with a second round -6 under par 65, to lead the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale by four shots at the conclusion of play.

Phil sadly took a double bogey on his final hole in the second round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, costing him another shot at history, a chance to break the PGA TOUR’s 36-hole scoring record. Phil said he needed to remain focused, and not make those kinds of mistakes;

“You always remember kind of the last hole, the last putt, but I think it’s very possible that’s going to help me, because it’s got me refocused, that I cannot ease up on a single shot. I’ve got to be really focused, these guys are going to make a lot of birdies and I’ve got to get after it and cannot make those kinds of mistakes. Unfortunately, I made a double on the last hole and didn’t finish the way I wanted to, but I think it’s a good example of what can happen on this course. You can make a lot of birdies and eagles, make up a lot of ground, but there’s a lot of water and trouble there that if you misstep you can easily make bogeys and double.”

Phil’s drive on 18  drive on bounced into the left-side water hazard and, after a penalty drop, he still had a chance to get up down for par and the record;

“I hit a good shot, I thought, I tried to start it right down the middle and hold it into the wind. It just leaked a little bit left. I still thought it was up. Then I hit a poor wedge from there, but the tee shot I didn’t think was going to be in the water at any point.”

In second place on his own is Bill Haas, at -13 under par, he knows he has to keep making birdies;

“We all know the way the course is playing, if there’s no wind on the weekend, you’ve just got to keep making birdies.”

Talking about tomorrow Bill hoped that Phil doesn’t go too crazy on moving day;

“It’s just another day. It’s moving day, hopefully, I can move up the leaderboard and he doesn’t go too crazy.”

Keegan Bradley and Brandt Snedeker are tied in third place at -12 under par, Keegan recalled his Eagle on the par 5 fifteenth hole, needing only a seven iron to hit it to within eight feet;

“I just smashed a driver down there, I had been hitting 3-wood and I’m driving the ball so well that I just decided to rip driver down there.”

He followed that with a birdie at sixteen, his approach came to rest just five feet from the pin, Keegan said he loved the atmosphere at the sixteenth hole;

 ”It reminds me of when I go to Fenway Park, there’s always like a murmur, it’s really cool, I dig it. I wish there was more holes like that out here. It was such a relief to shoot a good number, I’ve been playing so well this whole year and haven’t made many putts. Today, the putts started to go in.”

I cannot see anybody catching Phil, the real deal, Mickleson.

I will be at TPC Scottsdale in July, contact me if you want to join me in a round.

 

 

 

Phil Fires in Pheonix

Phil Mickelson / Martin / Getty Images

Phil Mickelson fired in a first round of 60 in the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. The 60 was so nearly a 59 as Phil’s putt on the last lipped out, but he was happy to settle for the lead at -11 under par.

Phil said he was certain the putt for 59 was in;

“Six feet to go, it was in the center, three feet to go, it was in the center. A foot to go, it was in the center, and even as it’s approaching the hole, I couldn’t envision which side of the hole it could possibly miss on, and it ended up somehow just dying off at the end, catching the lip. Well, 60 is awesome, last time I shot 60 here in `05, I birdied like the last three or four holes just to do that, and I was ecstatic, and I’m ecstatic to shoot 60. But there’s a big difference between 60 and 59. Not that big between 60 and 61, there really isn’t. But there’s a big barrier, a Berlin Wall barrier, between 59 and 60. I shot it in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. I shot 58 in a practice round. But to do it in a tournament would have been historic for me, something I’d always remember, and I’ll always remember that putt on the last hole probably, too. When I birdied three and four, done deal. I’m going to get this done, very disappointed that I wasn’t able to birdie the last couple. I just knew I could do it, and darn it, it just lipped out.”

There are five payers tied in second place at -7 under par, four shots adrift of Phil, they are;  Ryan Palmer, Brandt Snedeker, Padraig Harrington, Ted Potter Jnr, and Jeff Maggert. Behind them is a whole host of guy’s on -6 under par, but the day belonged the Phil Mickelson.

Would love the see Phil go on and win this tournament.

I will be in Scottsdale in July, so if you are interested in playing a round, or just interested in White Dragon Golf,  let me know and we can meet.

Frosty Start in Sun Valley @ TPC Scottsdale

A frost delay at TPC Scottsdale in  the Waste Management Phoenix Open meant the first round could be completed. At the close of play Ryan Palmer was leading at -7 under par, but in close contention was Bubba Watson at -5 under par for 15 holes.Webb Simpson is alone in second place at -6, with six others finished on -5.

Palmer spoke about using his old putter;

“I pulled it out of the garage and was putting in my living room, then went outside in the backyard on my putting green, and I knew it was time to bring it back out. I used the exact same putter the last two years, and of course had two of the best years of my career. But toward the end of the year last year, around the BMW, I just got frustrated with not making anything, so I thought I’d try something different, put a similar style head in play and actually had some success. But my first two weeks out here I could tell I wasn’t comfortable when I’d get over the short putts. I guess you could say I left a couple out there, but it was a great day for sure.”

Webb Simpson, the highest ranked player in the field, likes the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale, saying;

“It’s one of those courses that just fits your eye well.”

Kyle Stanley  opened his account with a 69, just  four days after a devastating loss in the Farmers Insurance Open. He praised the folks who greeted his appearance;

“I’m kind of overwhelmed by it. It was just good to be out there, it was almost therapeutic.”

Bubba Watson drives General Lee to Phoenix Open

Bubba Watson arrived for the Phoenix Open in great style on Wednesday,  driving the original General Lee 01 car used in the “Dukes of Hazzard” television series. Bubba had NASCAR driver Carl Edwards riding shotgun in the famous 1969 Dodge Charger  that he had recently purchased at the Barrett-Jackson car auction in Scottsdale for $110,000.

Bubba apparently has “loved the show forever” and has a collection of Dukes of Hazzard DVDs to prove it.  Angie, his wife, knew of his admiration for the show, he said;

“At the time we met she knew that I loved that car and wanted one. We made a deal back then that if I ever won a golf tournament, she would let me get one.”

                                          

(Photo: Allan Henry/US PRESSWIRE)

 

The parking of the vehicle could have been better, but no one seemed to care too much. Ian Poulter tweeted; 
IanJamesPoulter Check out@bubbawatson new car in the parking lot. General Lee great machine.

Ian is also playing a practice round tomorrow with Bubba and Gary Woodland and reckons he will be hitting first into the greens, meaning his drives will be way behind the big hitting duo.

Holes-in-one on the 16th at TPC Scottsdale

Holes in one on the 16th at TPC Scottsdale are still a rare event despite the huge crowds that surround this green, just waiting in anticipation to see one.(excuse the pun)  The Waste Management Phoenix Open starts this week and the 16th will be a caldron of fascination once again.  Those surrounding stands have been named “the Coliseum” for good reason; there are fans on all sides exploding with child like excitement.  The complete list of aces at the 16th since 1987 stands at eight holes in one, with Jarrod Lyle adding his name to the list last year. He said of his baptism of fire;  ”possibly the scariest tee shot in golf.”

Caryn Levy/Getty Images

 

My interest in this story was kindled when yesterday I hit the pin with my tee shot on the 17th, par three at Otaki Golf Course. There must obviously have been a fault with the pin because the ball rebounded off it to the left, another near miss for me. For your information Otaki is in New Zealand, on the other side of the world to TPC Scottsdale, but unfortunately it is the nearest I will be able to get to the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Should you be interested this is the list of Aces at the 16th, TPC Scottsdale.

 

Aces on the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale, since 1987

Year Player Rd 2011 Jarrod Lyle 2 2002 Mike Sposa 2 1997 Tiger Woods 3 1997 Steve Stricker 4 1991 Jay Delsing 3 1990 Brad Bryant 1 1990 David Edwards 3 1988 Hal Sutton 3