World number two Phil Mickelson celebrated
his 31st birthday on Saturday by firing a 68 at the U.S. Open to put himself in
contention for another crack at his first major championship.
Sunday was the same old sad story of
missed opportunities for the talented lefthander, who fell from chase about halfway
through the fourth round with a spate of bogeys the left him tied for seventh
at 282, six strokes off the pace.
"It's certainly not the finish I would
have liked, but out of playing (36) majors now, and not winning any, I'm tired
of beating myself up time after time," said Mickelson.
"If I happen to win the British Open
or the PGA this year, that would be great. And it's something I will be gung-ho
for and working hard for. But again, if it doesn't happen, I'm tired of beating
myself up."
Mickelson began the last round at three-under,
two shots behind overnight leaders Retief Goosen of South Africa and Stewart Cink.
He was still in touch with the leading
pack until he hit the ninth hole.
Mickelson bogeyed the ninth, 10th,
13th, 15th and 17th holes to straggle in with a five-over 75.
The personable Mickelson was not the
only big name player to fade away on Sunday. David Duval, who along with Mickelson
battled Tiger Woods to the end at the Masters, posted a 74 to finish at four-over
284.
Sergio Garcia of Spain, who began the
day just one shot off the pace, soared to a 77 to finish 283 along with Tiger
Woods, whose streak of consecutive major victories ended at four.
Mickelson, plagued by problems with
his short putting and by unexplainable lapses especially on Sundays, has an admirable
record on the U.S. Tour this season with eight top-three finishes.
But that includes only one victory,
a playoff win against Frank Lickliter in his hometown of San Diego which he won
with a double-bogey. At Pebble Beach, New Orleans and Colonial he led going into
the final round but failed to close the deal.
Mickelson looked to put a positive
spin on the Southern Hills experience.
"The whole week has been fun," said
Mickelson. "The golf course was set up very well, it was a fun test.
"I thought the whole week went very
well. And certainly one bad round is not going to spoil the way I look at this
tournament."
Mickelson said close calls used to
really bother him.
"I really thought that I should have
been winning major championships in the mid '90s. I had a great shot at Shinnecock
(1995) and some Masters and didn't do it," he said. "And I would leave really
dejected and feeling down.
"Granted, I didn't come through and
win, it was very exciting to at least have the opportunity to win. And I fully
expect that if I continue to play the way I have, I should have a good shot at
the British Open and PGA."
