Despite all the hype leading into this week, Phil Mickelson had little hope for a victory when he teed up his ball on the 1st hole on Saturday at Augusta National. His play on the opening par 4 confirmed as much.
Mickelson began the day 14 shots behind leader Patrick Reed after having finished the second round right on the cutline at five over. Mickelson found himself deep in the trees after his tee shot, and instead of taking an unplayable, he decided to try and rip his ball off the pine straw through thick trees, all while having an awkward stance.
It didn’t work. Phil took a mighty lash and completely whiffed. He ducked, expecting a ricochet off the trees, and then looked down in despair to see that his ball hadn’t moved. Watch it below.
Masters 2018: Phil Mickelson | 1st Hole, Round 3 pic.twitter.com/RVYmBFFMjW
— Masters Highlights (@MastersMoments) April 7, 2018
Mickelson made a triple-bogey 7 on the 1st, dropping him to eight over for the tournament.
