Former Arizona State Sun Devil Phil Mickelson Misses Cut at The Open
Two months after becoming the oldest player to ever win the PGA Championship, former Arizona State Sun Devil Phil Mickelson set another milestone for himself this week at Royal St George's. Mickelson's opening round of 10 over par (80) was his worst ever first round at the tournament.
Now, Mickelson finds himself packing his bags to head back home after missing the cut at The Open.
Mickelson, who won the tournament in 2013, bounced back from a horrendous start by shooting two over par (72) on Friday. However, Mickelson (who finished +12 through those two days) couldn't dig himself out of the deficit he created on Thursday, with The Open's cut projected at +1.
In His Own Words
"I thought I was playing well coming into this but I played some of my worst golf,” said Mickelson. “I don’t have great answers as to why so I have to figure out what I can do to get back to the level of play that I know I can, like I did at [the PGA Championship]. That’s what gets me excited and makes all the work worthwhile. I put in a lot of effort to be ready. I thought I was ready. I obviously played terrible.”
Where Mickelson Goes From Here
Mickelson stated he would "definitely" be taking some time off, hoping to regroup and potentially get back into the swing of things next month. The 50-year-old is obviously one of the most accomplished golfers of his generation, as Mickelson is no stranger to these sorts of setbacks. The ASU product recently won the ESPY for Best Athlete in Men's Golf.
For now, however, Mickelson looks to focus on what went wrong during his two-day spell overseas.
“I don’t know what happened on Thursday. If I knew I’d tell you. Because of the jet lag, it might take a few extra days to recover. I’m just having some challenges staying sharp," said Mickelson.
Donnie Druin is a Deputy Editor with AllSunDevils. Follow Donnie on Twitter @DonnieDruin, and AllSunDevils @AllSunDevils.