Aggressive Phil Mickelson implodes, Cam Smith cruises at LIV
Phil Mickelson tees off the first hole during the final round of the Bedminster Invitational LIV Golf tournament in Bedminster, N.J., Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023. Credit: AP/Seth Wenig
BEDMINSTER, N.J.
Phil Mickelson made headlines this past week for his gambling, but he does pretty well with the golfing, too. Fifty-seven career victories, six majors, three Masters titles.
And yet Mickelson stood at the No. 7 tee Sunday afternoon at Trump National, trailing LIV leader Cam Smith by only three strokes, and did something more akin to a weekend hacker at a local public course.
With water looming off the right side of the green and the pin not too far from the edge, Mickelson took aim from 185 yards out at the par-3. He picked a very aggressive line — in retrospect, definitely too aggressive.
The first shot splashed into the pond. So Mickelson teed up another and let it fly again. The second went swimming, too. Two straight balls in the drink.
Astonishing, really. Mickelson doubled over, his face twisted in anguish. He couldn’t believe it either. The odds on such an event would be impossible to calculate. Not even Mickelson himself would touch that bet.
After nearly launching his third shot into the pond too — only the rough stopped it a few feet from the shoreline — Mickelson finished with an 8, a snowman, a stunning quintuple bogey. That also finished any realistic chance at what would have been his first win since the 2021 PGA Championship.
“I had been hitting really good iron shots — I didn’t even worry about the water,” Mickelson said during a brief interview Sunday with three reporters coming off the 18th green. “I just pulled both of them. I don’t know what happened. Poor set-up or something.
“That was kind of a gut punch, because I felt like I was playing well and had a chance to make a move. I thought I could get at that pin.”
Mickelson, 53, has made a career of living dangerously, both on and off the course. He’s always been a risk-taker with a club in his hand, and this past week was a reminder of how far he pushed his luck on the gambling front. With a new book alleging that he bet more than $1 billion and tried to place a wager on his 2012 Ryder Cup team, he again was forced to publicly acknowledge his addiction.
Turns out Mickelson’s three green jackets share his closet with plenty of skeletons, and a few more of those came to light from the book’s accusations. In that sense — aside from the $1 billion, of course — he’s human like anybody else. But we didn’t expect to see that mortality laid as bare on the golf course as it was Sunday at Trump National.
Smith seized control after Mickelson’s double-splashdown and cruised to a three-under 68 on the day and a 12-under victory for the tournament, seven strokes clear of second-place finisher Ariban Lahiri.
Mickelson’s literal plunge was even more surprising, given his performance to that point. He began the final round four behind Smith, who bogeyed two of the first three holes, and Mickelson trimmed his deficit in half through four. He could have caught Smith by then but left two long birdie putts just inches from the cup over the first two holes.
Whether Michelson was getting anxious or just thought No. 7 was the right opportunity, the strategy blew up in spectacular fashion.
“How Phil played those first five or six holes, it was just out of the ordinary,” said Smith, who earned $4 million for Sunday’s win, running his LIV total to $13.6 million for this season through 11 events. “I wasn’t really expecting that — I don’t think anyone was.
“It’s a weird golf course. You can’t play defensive and play for par, but you can’t play too aggressive and try to make birdies. You’ve got to almost let the birdies come to you. I can understand why that happened. Because you’re behind and you want to win. Simple as that.”
Maybe Mickelson, who has yet to win on the year-old LIV tour that he’s defended vigorously from the jump, wanted the W a bit too much. That’s the only way to rationalize a quintuple bogey from this golfer in that spot.
Mickelson ended up with a 4-over 75 and finished 1-under for the 54-hole tournament, earning $437,500 rather than the $2.25 million for second place he likely would have pulled in without that No. 7 implosion.
“Yeah, I’ve been doing that a little too much,” he said. “But I’m starting to show glimpses of playing a lot better, even though today wasn’t my best. I’m having more fun and the game is feeling easier. So I’m looking forward to taking a few weeks off to regroup and try to finish strong because I’m seeing a lot of progress.”
As for being in the eye of the storm again, followed by the pond on No. 7, Mickelson tried to stay positive.
“To get in contention was a big step for me,” he said. “It’s something I’ve got to build on.”
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
