Mickelson and the U.S. Open

[ColdNoMore]

Is this really his last, best chance...at winning it?

While he has a record 6 runner-up finishes (some quite tragic/dumb), finally winning the U.S. Open would make him only the 6th person...to complete the "Career Grand Slam."

Too Much Pressure? (click here) (http://sports.yahoo.com/pebble-gives-mickelson-last-best-chance-elusive-us-174515965--golf.html)

There was the hospitality tent at Winged Foot.

There was Payne and the pager at Pinehurst.

There was a near-miss at Merion.

To list all of Phil Mickelson's close calls, meltdowns and shortfalls at the U.S. Open is to peer into a particularly tortured chapter of the history of one of golf's greatest champions.

More uplifting are the stories from Mickelson's five tour victories at Pebble Beach - including one earlier this year.

It's what makes Mickelson's trip next week to Pebble all that much more tantalizing. It's his chance to finally win the tournament he's wanted so badly - maybe too badly - at a course teeming with history and good vibes for not only himself, but for his family and for the game itself. It's a week during which the five-time major winner, who turns 49 on the day of the final round, will come face to face with what could be his last, best chance to win the U.S. Open.

And become the sixth player to complete the career Grand Slam.

While I'll be rooting for 'Lefty and would love to see him win (especially with it being at Pebble)...I wouldn't put money on it.

[Bjeanj]

I hope he wins. We’ll actually be at Pebble Beach Saturday and Sunday, and I’ll be cheering him on.

[ColdNoMore]

I hope he wins. We’ll actually be at Pebble Beach Saturday and Sunday, and I’ll be cheering him on.

Very, very... :cool:

With it being Pebble, Phil winning there earlier this year (plus Sunday being his 49th B'Day), Tiger winning this year's Masters and Koepka going for his third straight U.S. Open...the tournament should be electric.

Insider weekend updates here on TOTV...would be much appreciated. :thumbup:

[Bjeanj]

Very, very... :cool:

Insider weekend updates here on TOTV...would be much appreciated. :thumbup:




Will do. Hope weather cooperates.

[ColdNoMore]

Will do. Hope weather cooperates.

Looking forward to the updates...fingers are crossed on the weather. :thumbup:

[Bjeanj]

Just checked long range temps. Will be about 60* Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Have to check to see if I have enough pairs of pants! Got rid of most of them when we moved down here. Will be sunny though. That’s the big thing.

[Two Bills]

I hope he wins. We’ll actually be at Pebble Beach Saturday and Sunday, and I’ll be cheering him on.

If he make the cut! :icon_wink:

[rjn5656]

With Phil you never know.

[Bay Kid]

60 degrees, darn that is cold!

[Bjeanj]

Ok. Just hopped into bed after a loooong travel day. Was up at 6, so have been up for about 18 hrs, most of which seemed to be on planes. Heading to Monterey Aquarium Friday. We have tix for Saturday/Sunday at Pebble Beach, so that will start golf commentary.

Flew into San Jose, where I have never been. Staying in Morgan Hill, where hotel is $100/night. Any closer, the rooms started at around $350/night. Didn’t think about the hills around here. Just so pretty! Here’s a pic after we got on the 101 at the airport.

Goodnight!

[Taltarzac725]

Ok. Just hopped into bed after a loooong travel day. Was up at 6, so have been up for about 18 hrs, most of which seemed to be on planes. Heading to Monterey Aquarium Friday. We have tix for Saturday/Sunday at Pebble Beach, so that will start golf commentary.

Flew into San Jose, where I have never been. Staying in Morgan Hill, where hotel is $100/night. Any closer, the rooms started at around $350/night. Didn’t think about the hills around here. Just so pretty! Here’s a pic after we got on the 101 at the airport.

Goodnight!

I used to live in Belmont, CA which is quite pretty. It is up the Peninsula from San Jose. One of San Jose's main tourist attractions is the Winchester House. Welcome to the Winchester Mystery House(R) - Winchester Mystery House (https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/)

Hope you have fun at Pebble Beach. Driven past it a number of times but never stopped.

[Bjeanj]

Took 156west off the 101 to get to Hwy 1. Two lane highway packed with cars at 10:30 AM. Timing drive for tomorrow. Lots of agriculture through here. I know you want to get GOLF play by play, but since we’re not there yet, ...

[stan the man]

poor Phil playing in SD county club for age 3 -- i really feel for him

[ColdNoMore]

Took 156west off the 101 to get to Hwy 1. Two lane highway packed with cars at 10:30 AM. Timing drive for tomorrow. Lots of agriculture through here. I know you want to get GOLF play by play, but since we’re not there yet, ...

I've spent a fair amount of time in the area and can just imagine how much traffic must be on the relatively small roads around there right now. :oops:

If you're looking for something to do in the evenings, Cannery Row in Monterey is pretty cool to walk around/eat/shop. :cool:

And the Monterey Bay Aquarium...is world class.

Cannery Row | Official Site for Lodging, Dining and Shopping (https://canneryrow.com/)


Looking forward to your first-hand observations...over the weekend. :thumbup:

[ColdNoMore]

Mickelson is going to have to scorch the course in the next two days and hope a bunch of really good players stumble...if he is to have any chance.

[Bjeanj]

Today am following Horschel, Woods, Koepka, Mickelson, Spieth, Furyk, Garcia, Rose and Woodland.

[Bjeanj]

At #1 in bleachers. Kisner/Leishman up next. Just missed Fowler. Both used irons presumably due to dogleg right. Probably hit 260 yds.

[Bjeanj]

Horschel/Hurley up next. Hurley used a hybrid.

[Bjeanj]

Woods/An just teed off. Am staying on #1 until Phil tees off at noon.

[Bjeanj]

Casey/Howell III up next. Woods didn’t have a good start. Casey’s under a tree. Howell did well.

[Bjeanj]

Phil’s up with Danielson. Man from Scotland in stands with us. Accent takes getting used to. Stands are emptying now. We’ll wait for Spieth to go thru.

[Bjeanj]

Kuchar comes through on 7 and the sun broke thru the clouds. Finally!

[ColdNoMore]

Kuchar comes through on 7 and the sun broke thru the clouds. Finally!

:coolsmiley:

[Bjeanj]

Pics from today

[Bjeanj]

Hill up to the 6th green; views from 7th hole.

[Bjeanj]

Should have brought my winter gloves.

[ColdNoMore]

Pics from today

Hill up to the 6th green; views from 7th hole.

Thanks and...stay warm. :thumbup:

[DeanFL]

Re the Open:

- a gorgeous course, the vistas, the landscapes, the supremely challenging layout. kudos.

- so glad the low cloud cover opened midday yesterday, allowing the blimp TV coverage - spectacular.

- a wonderful Open so far. Some truly FANTASTIC shots and putts. The final day stacks up to be a very exciting one. Interesting to see which of the Top 8 will wither or choke..or a streak of bad luck, and who will pull it all out. I'm hoping for a 3-way tie, and>
US Open playoff format is two hole aggregate.>

That means that the players tied for the lead go out and play two holes, with the leading player after the two holes crowned champion.

[Chi-Town]

Visited Pebble Beach on a warm sunny day. I immediately thought how could one play golf with such fantastic scenery all around.

DeanFL, saw that it should be sunny and 60 this afternoon. Enjoy.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[Bjeanj]

We were at Pebble Beach on 2000. They will be hosting again in 2027, I think. Today should be great. I wonder if Woodland will have the kind of finish Tiger had in 2000. Wouldn’t that be amazing?

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I've been around a lot of tour players in my life and I have to say that Phil Mickelson is one of the nicest people that I've ever met.

That being said, as a golfer, he's just dumb. Sorry, but there is no other way to put it. He makes many bad decisions on the golf course. Some of them work out in his favor and some of them don't. Looking at Phil's record and realizing that he played through the prime of the Tiger Woods era, it's truly remarkable. If not for Tiger he would have been the best player in the world in many years.

But if had made better decisions on the golf course his record would have been even better and would have included at least one US Open and possibly a few more.

The final hole at Winged Foot in 2006 was the worst decision making I have ever witnessed on a golf course. He made some pretty dumb plays on 16 and 17 as well, but there were several bad choices on the 18th. First was the driver off the tee. The most important thing on that hole was to get the ball on the fairway. A 3 wood or long iron would have been the correct play. Then one he got lucky and got a great bounce off the hospitality tent, he got even dumber in trying to play a shot to the green through a tree. Phil has one of the best short games in history and needs to learn to depend on it more. The play should have been to punch something low up in front of the green again, getting it on some short grass. From there he would have had a very good chance of getting it up and down for a win. At worst, he would have made bogey and tied.

An example of a dumb shot that worked out was the one from behind the tree on the thirteenth hole of The Masters. He pulled off the shot and made birdie, But he would have had an excellent chance to make birdie if he has punched it out down the fairway to a good number. Again, although he has a truly great short game, he didn't trust it. The shot worked out but if it hadn't it could have been a disaster.

He made some bad decisions on the final few holes at Pinehurst as well. but they didn't stand out like Winged Foot and Augusta.

And these are just the shots that we know about because they came a crucial times in majors. He's made many dumb shots in early rounds of other tournaments to shoot himself out of contention early.

Like I said, Phil is one of the nicest and most talented guys on tour but he needs to make better decisions.

[DonH57]

I've been around a lot of tour players in my life and I have to say that Phil Mickelson is one of the nicest people that I've ever met.

That being said, as a golfer, he's just dumb. Sorry, but there is no other way to put it. He makes many bad decisions on the golf course. Some of them work out in his favor and some of them don't. Looking at Phil's record and realizing that he played through the prime of the Tiger Woods era, it's truly remarkable. If not for Tiger he would have been the best player in the world in many years.

But if had made better decisions on the golf course his record would have been even better and would have included at least one US Open and possibly a few more.

The final hole at Winged Foot in 2006 was the worst decision making I have ever witnessed on a golf course. He made some pretty dumb plays on 16 and 17 as well, but there were several bad choices on the 18th. First was the driver off the tee. The most important thing on that hole was to get the ball on the fairway. A 3 wood or long iron would have been the correct play. Then one he got lucky and got a great bounce off the hospitality tent, he got even dumber in trying to play a shot to the green through a tree. Phil has one of the best short games in history and needs to learn to depend on it more. The play should have been to punch something low up in front of the green again, getting it on some short grass. From there he would have had a very good chance of getting it up and down for a win. At worst, he would have made bogey and tied.

An example of a dumb shot that worked out was the one from behind the tree on the thirteenth hole of The Masters. He pulled off the shot and made birdie, But he would have had an excellent chance to make birdie if he has punched it out down the fairway to a good number. Again, although he has a truly great short game, he didn't trust it. The shot worked out but if it hadn't it could have been a disaster.

He made some bad decisions on the final few holes at Pinehurst as well. but they didn't stand out like Winged Foot and Augusta.

And these are just the shots that we know about because they came a crucial times in majors. He's made many dumb shots in early rounds of other tournaments to shoot himself out of contention early.

Like I said, Phil is one of the nicest and most talented guys on tour but he needs to make better decisions.

I'm sure his age isn't helping matters either. I've always enjoy watching him play.

[Chi-Town]

I've been around a lot of tour players in my life and I have to say that Phil Mickelson is one of the nicest people that I've ever met.



That being said, as a golfer, he's just dumb. Sorry, but there is no other way to put it. He makes many bad decisions on the golf course. Some of them work out in his favor and some of them don't. Looking at Phil's record and realizing that he played through the prime of the Tiger Woods era, it's truly remarkable. If not for Tiger he would have been the best player in the world in many years.



But if had made better decisions on the golf course his record would have been even better and would have included at least one US Open and possibly a few more.



The final hole at Winged Foot in 2006 was the worst decision making I have ever witnessed on a golf course. He made some pretty dumb plays on 16 and 17 as well, but there were several bad choices on the 18th. First was the driver off the tee. The most important thing on that hole was to get the ball on the fairway. A 3 wood or long iron would have been the correct play. Then one he got lucky and got a great bounce off the hospitality tent, he got even dumber in trying to play a shot to the green through a tree. Phil has one of the best short games in history and needs to learn to depend on it more. The play should have been to punch something low up in front of the green again, getting it on some short grass. From there he would have had a very good chance of getting it up and down for a win. At worst, he would have made bogey and tied.



An example of a dumb shot that worked out was the one from behind the tree on the thirteenth hole of The Masters. He pulled off the shot and made birdie, But he would have had an excellent chance to make birdie if he has punched it out down the fairway to a good number. Again, although he has a truly great short game, he didn't trust it. The shot worked out but if it hadn't it could have been a disaster.



He made some bad decisions on the final few holes at Pinehurst as well. but they didn't stand out like Winged Foot and Augusta.



And these are just the shots that we know about because they came a crucial times in majors. He's made many dumb shots in early rounds of other tournaments to shoot himself out of contention early.



Like I said, Phil is one of the nicest and most talented guys on tour but he needs to make better decisions.Phil turned 49 while I was reading this post. [emoji6]

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[Bjeanj]

What an amazing putt to finish the Open! If I could putt like Woodland, I would die happy. ;-)

We sat on the side of the fairway relatively close to the 18th green. Couldn’t *buy*a seat in the bleachers. If one were claustrophobic, you would run screaming. Just packed, of course.

A few notes about this.
1) I still like Mickelson, and am not a good enough golfer to judge whether someone makes bad decisions. I enjoy watching professionals, and hope to glean some good techniques from watching.
2) This was our fourth US Open, and every one I’ve been to have been consistently well-run, with everything you could think you need has been provided. The pre-Open info on the website was useful, and included the style purse you could or couldn’t carry, no lawn chairs with arms, among other things.
3) The parking area was based on the California State University-Monterey Bay. Acres and acres of parking, with a plethora of porta potties available prior to the 30 minute bus ride to Gate 1 at Pebble Beach. The buses were ready to go. No waiting; there were buses lined up with volunteers counting people. When that max number was reached, they transitioned the line to the next bus waiting. Just amazing.
4) I would guess thousands of volunteers helped make the event successful, including middle school children from Carmel Middle School.
5) We met amazingly nice people from all over the country interested in one thing: good golf.
6) I don’t know if there is an official attendance count, but one number I heard was 42,000.

We’re flying home tomorrow (Monday). We regret we didn’t extend our stay to drive up the coast and do some tourist stuff, but maybe next time.

[ColdNoMore]

What an amazing putt to finish the Open! If I could putt like Woodland, I would die happy. ;-)

We sat on the side of the fairway relatively close to the 18th green. Couldn’t *buy*a seat in the bleachers. If one were claustrophobic, you would run screaming. Just packed, of course.

A few notes about this.
1) I still like Mickelson, and am not a good enough golfer to judge whether someone makes bad decisions. I enjoy watching professionals, and hope to glean some good techniques from watching.
2) This was our fourth US Open, and every one I’ve been to have been consistently well-run, with everything you could think you need has been provided. The pre-Open info on the website was useful, and included the style purse you could or couldn’t carry, no lawn chairs with arms, among other things.
3) The parking area was based on the California State University-Monterey Bay. Acres and acres of parking, with a plethora of porta potties available prior to the 30 minute bus ride to Gate 1 at Pebble Beach. The buses were ready to go. No waiting; there were buses lined up with volunteers counting people. When that max number was reached, they transitioned the line to the next bus waiting. Just amazing.
4) I would guess thousands of volunteers helped make the event successful, including middle school children from Carmel Middle School.
5) We met amazingly nice people from all over the country interested in one thing: good golf.
6) I don’t know if there is an official attendance count, but one number I heard was 42,000.

We’re flying home tomorrow (Monday). We regret we didn’t extend our stay to drive up the coast and do some tourist stuff, but maybe next time.

Appreciate the first-hand observations.

It was an exciting tournament without eve being there in person.

After hearing about some of Woodland and his wife's personal challenges and that he is so well liked by other tour players...it's definitely a 'feel-good' win. :thumbup:

Have a safe trip home. :ho: