He made an eight, his worst score on a par-3 in his 28 years on the PGA Tour. One week before the Masters, Mickelson was not masterful during Friday’s second round of the Houston Open.
Stroke one. Mickelson hit his tee shot into the water that winds in front of the green. A few seconds after contact, Mickelson walked to the left, looked in that direction, then gave a casual glance back toward his shot.
Stroke two. Penalty.
Stroke three. Mickelson took his drop. Then dropped another shot into the water. From 44 yards away, he hit a high pitch short, and it went back into the penalty area.
Stroke four. Penalty.
Stroke five. Nearly the same as his previous swing. Mickelson took another drop. Then dropped his shot just short of the water. From 42 yards away, he hit a high pitch shot, and it ended up in the rough.
Stroke six. Mickelson pitched on. Stroke seven. He missed the 10-footer. Stroke eight. He made the 7-incher for the quintuple bogey. In one hole, Mickelson went from even-par for his round, and 6-over for the tournament, to 5-over and 11-over.
Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.
