CROMWELL, Conn. – Phil Mickelson’s first start at the Travelers Championship since 2003 blew up in spectacular fashion Friday morning.
“This was a disappointing day for me,” he said.
Following a 3-under 67 Thursday, Mickelson started his second round with a tee ball hit out of bounds and a double bogey at the par-4 10th.
At the par-3 11th, his tee shot plugged in the bunker, leaving him to splash out across the green and drop another shot.
His second at the par-5 13th went so far left that it cleared the pond that fronts the green and once again left the golf course, leading to bogey.
He three-putted from 6 feet to drop another shot at the par-3 16th.
And at the par-4 17th, he missed wildly to the left, leaving himself more than 208 yards over the water, which he found, en route to another double.
A merciful birdie at 18 saw him make the turn in 6-over 41. Nine straight pars on the back led to him a second-round 76 and a two-day total of 3 over par.
Asked about the state of his game and his energy levels, Mickelson said he believes his game has really been rounding into shape in recent weeks. Stamina was not an issue after the U.S. Open.
“I feel like I've had a couple good breakthroughs and my ball-striking game is much closer than it's been,” he said. “I want to keep playing now because I feel like it's closer. Today was just not what I expected.”
Mickelson said Wednesday that he will not be playing the Scottish Open in the run-up to the year’s final major at Royal Portrush. Following a missed cut here at the Travelers, he will round out his regular season with the 3M Championship, The Open, and the WGC-FedEx Championship.
“It's a little disappointing because I really felt like my game was coming around,” he said. “This is a good golf course for my game, too. Just unfortunately didn't put it together. Had a really rough nine there.”