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Quite a show on back nine

Johnette Howard

June 21, 2004

Phil Mickelson was straining at the seams of his talent and his patience and his nerves, he was pushing, pushing, pushing, trying not to wait till the last minute, trying his damnedest to send a wave of cheers, a heart-sinking roar - something - rolling back up the fairway at Retief Goosen, just to let Goosen know that his final-day lead suddenly wasn't safe at the U.S. Open, and that Mickelson had just done something to threaten him in this taut, two-man fight to the finish.

At No. 15, the breakthrough finally happened for Mickelson. His doggedness was rewarded. He rolled in a birdie putt to inch ahead of Goosen by a stroke - only to give the tournament right back with a shocking three-putt double bogey on the par-3 17th.

Mickelson's stunning misses induced gasps from a partisan gallery that was already prepared to make Mickelson's walk up the 18th fairway a raucous celebration of his ascent to the indisputable rank of best player in the world. A win here, coupled with Mickelson's win at the Masters two months ago, also would've moved him halfway to a Grand Slam.

"As thrilling as it was at Augusta, it seems like it's that much of the wind taken out of you when you end up coming so close and playing so hard for 72 holes," Mickelson said, noting this was his third runner-up finish at a U.S. Open. "To play better than everyone but one guy, it's disappointing."

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It unraveled for Mickelson the meanest way possible. A putt at a time.

Because of Goosen's staunch play and another day of stiff winds that made the players' clothes flap as though they were standing on a helicopter landing pad, not merely the tees and greens at Shinnecock Hills, every shot Mickelson eyed yesterday was a challenge.

Thinking of his first miss at the fatal 17th, Mickelson said, "[The green] broke right to left but the wind was left to right, so I played it straight and the wind took it."

Goosen, the 2001 Open champion, played a scrambling but resourceful round, using his dead-eye putting to save himself time and time again.

But this was Mickelson's tournament to win, too, and the truth was he had plenty of other birdie chances on the first 16 holes. Mickelson, who began the day two shots behind Goosen, just ... couldn't ... quite ... break through.

On the front nine, Mickelson had four realistic birdie attempts but only one flopped in. His makeable birdie putt on the opening hole curled away from the cup, another try at No. 6 sneaked inches wide. He sent a wonderful chip shot out of the deep greenside bunker at No. 7 and excitedly ran up the steep front slope of the hazard to get a better look as the ball kept bending toward the hole and a large portion of the crowd began to stand, following the path of the ball with a surprised, then steadily building "ahh-AHHHH." that turned into an anguished shriek when Mickelson's ball slithered wide.

Because of the nightmare that was soon to come at 17, a lot of stories are likely to bray today that yesterday marked the return of the "old" Mickelson, the all-too-frequent also-ran. But to nullify or ignore the progress that Mickelson has made since winning the Masters and nearly winning this Open would be wrongheaded.

Mickelson is a better golfer now than he's ever been. Given the way Vijay Singh wasn't a factor here and Ernie Els thudded to a final-round 80, Mickelson is still playing the consistently best golf in the world right now. Tiger Woods, who finished 14 strokes off the pace, isn't even in the same frame (which is good news to anyone tired of seeing Steve Williams, Woods' boorish, camera-loathing caddie, keep embarrassing both of them).

Mickelson was as classy as ever in defeat, which might spark more snide remarks that he should be a good loser - he's had enough practice. But again, that wouldn't be fair.

The truth was that Goosen won this tournament; Mickelson didn't just lose it. On the front nine, Mickelson absorbed every stinging near-miss and lit out after Goosen again. He made the back nine as entertaining a finish as you could want, falling behind Goosen by a discouraging three shots with just six holes to play, catching up, then faltering on No. 17.

The Old Mickelson would've been cheery in defeat. But the New Mickelson? No. He even joined the chorus of complainers about the course conditions, adding: "I played some of the best golf of my life. I still couldn't shoot par."