Mickelson lips out on putt to miss 59

Phil Mickelson watches a putt on the ninth green lip out of the cup Thursday at the Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz. Had he made it, the putt would have given Mickelson a 59.

Phil Mickelson watches a putt on the ninth green lip out of the cup Thursday at the Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz. Had he made it, the putt would have given Mickelson a 59.

Friday, February 1, 2013

— Phil Mickelson missed out on a 59 by a fraction of an inch Thursday in the first round of the Phoenix Open.

Mickelson had a chance to become the sixth player in PGA Tour history to break 60 with a 25-foot birdie attempt on his last hole, the par-4 ninth at TPC Scottsdale. The putt looked good all the way, and Mickelson pointed his putter at the cup as he prepared to celebrate.

Right at the end, though, the ball caught the right edge of the cup, curled 180 degrees to the other side of the hole and stayed out.

“Six feet to go, it was in the center,” Mickelson said. “Three feet to go, it was in the center. A foot to go, it was in the center, and even as it’s approaching the hole, I couldn’t envision which side of the hole it could possibly miss on, and it ended up somehow just dying off at the end, catching the lip. At that speed, to lip out as much as it did is very rare.

“I’m excited to shoot 60, but to see that last putt lip out the way it did and not go in, it’s crushing because you don’t get that chance very often to shoot 59.”

His caddie, Jim Mackay, fell to his knees and stayed there several seconds.

“He could not have hit a better putt,” Mackay said.

Playing partners Jason Dufner and Rickie Fowler thought it was going in, too.

“Unlucky. He was walking it in,” Dufner said.

“I thought it was in,” Fowler said. “I was pulling for him, trying to stay out of his way.”

Mickelson settled for an 11-under 60, matching the tournament record he already shared with Grant Waite and Mark Calcavecchia.

“Well, 60 is awesome,” Mickelson said. “Last time I shot 60 here in ’05, I birdied like the last three or four holes just to do that, and I was ecstatic, and I’m ecstatic to shoot 60. But there’s a big difference between 60 and 59. Not that big between 60 and 61, there really isn’t. But there’s a big barrier, a Berlin Wall barrier, between 59 and 60.

“I shot it in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. I shot 58 in a practice round. But to do it in a tournament would have been historic for me, something I’d always remember, and I’ll always remember that putt on the last hole probably, too.”

In perfect conditions on the course softened by weekend rain, Mickelson birdied the first four holes and reached 8 under with another four-birdie run capped by a 20-footer on the par-4 first - his 10th hole of the round. He added birdies on par-5 third and par-3 fourth.

Mickelson had a four stroke lead over Ryan Palmer, Brandt Snedeker, Padraig Harrington, Ted Potter Jr. and Jeff Maggert when play was suspended because of darkness in the round that started an hour late because of frost. Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) shot a 66 with six birdies and a bogey. Bryce Molder (Conway) shot a bogey-free 67 with four birdies.

EUROPEAN TOUR Sterne leads by 1

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Richard Sterne nearly broke the course record at the Dubai Desert Classic on Thursday, shooting 10-under-par 62 in the first round to finish one shot ahead of Stephen Gallacher.

The 165th-ranked South African, who has struggled in recent years with back problems, started with three birdies on his first four holes. Sterne was on pace to break the course record of 61 set by Ernie Els in 1994, but couldn’t convert late birdie chances.

“It’s as good a start as I could have hoped for,” said Sterne, whose back trouble limited him to a handful of tournaments in 2010 and 2011.

Gallacher also had a strong start with three birdies and an eagle on the front nine en route to his 63. He had two consecutive bogeys on the back before an eagle and three birdies on the final four holes to pull into contention.

Leaderboard

PGA PHOENIX OPEN At TPC Scottsdale, Stadium Course Scottsdale, Ariz.

Purse: $6.2 million Par 71 (35-36), 7,216 yards Partial first round NOTE The round was suspended because of darkness with 33 players remaining on the course. It will be completed today.

Phil Mickelson ...................... 31-29-60 Ryan Palmer ........................ 32-32-64 Brandt Snedeker .................. 31-33-64 Padraig Harrington .............. 31-33-64 Ted Potter, Jr. ....................... 29-35-64 Jeff Maggert ......................... 31-33-64

Arkansans

Ken Duke .............................. 33-33-66 Bryce Molder ........................ 33-34-67 - More scores, Page 7C

Sports, Pages 23 on 02/01/2013