“Old Phil” returns, blows U.S. Open

The old, stubborn Phil Mickelson popped back up out of his major championship gopher hole at Winged Foot today, saw his shadow, and the result was the continuing winless winter of his at U.S. Opens

I can’t say it any better than Johnny Miller:

“It’s possibly the worst collapse at a U.S. Open. It hurts to watch that finish.”

But, stubborn Old Phil insisted on continuing to use his driver, rather than bagging it for a 3-wood or a long iron when it wasn’t working well. He insisted on continuing to try to hit fades when the shot wasn’t there today. And, he insisted on rolling the dice on 18, somewhat reminiscent of his hitting a wood out of the primary rough on the front nine earlier today.

And what was Monty thinking clubbing down (I think) on 18, and trying to overshape a shot? Go with the higher club, don’t worry about shaping it so much, and just aim for the center of the pin. You could have at least tied Ogilvy, if not winning.