Everything’s Nice but Mickelson’s Scores

What are 76, 72, 78? They are not the three numbers before the quarterback says “hike.” They are Phil Mickelson’s scores for the first three rounds of the PGA Championship, a 54-hole total of 10-over 226.

Mickelson is tied for 63rd and that’s certainly not what was expected from one of the players expected to contend in the PGA Championship.

Mickelson shot a 41 on the front, beginning with four consecutive bogeys. Afterward, Mickelson was at a loss to explain what is going wrong with him.

“I’m just not playing well,” he said. “I don’t know what else to say. There’s no one to blame, other than myself. The course couldn’t be any better, the people couldn’t be nicer.

“I just haven’t played well. That’s the bottom line.”

Mickelson was far from being the only player who struggled in the wind. Matt Gogel shot 83, Thomas Levet 82, Tom Watson 83 and David Duval 76.

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The third-round scoring average of 75.878 was the highest in PGA Championship history. Because of the conditions, tournament officials moved the tees up on the par four, 406-yard 16th, which played into the wind. Tiger Woods lauded the decision.

“I think if they would have kept it all the way back there, some of the guys might not have gotten over the water, as hard as the wind’s blowing,” he said.

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Ernie Els, the British Open champion, shot a three-over 75 and said the blustery wind turned the third round into a survival test.

“If you are shooting even par today, I think you would have been happy with your score,” he said. “Anything under 74 is not too bad.”

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The cut was finally made after the second round was officially completed Saturday morning and 72 players made it at four-over 148. Among those who didn’t were defending champion David Toms, Nick Price, Paul Azinger, Mark O’Meara, John Daly, and Jesper Parnevik.

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Weather report: The rainfall Friday night and Saturday morning at Hazeltine was measured at three inches. According to the forecasters, the temperature today is supposed to reach 75 degrees--with no rain.

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The top two shots of the day didn’t even come in the third round--they were instead accomplished by Fred Funk and Woods to end the second round.

On his second shot at the 18th hole, Woods faced a difficult bunker shot with a downhill, side-hill lie, trees in front of him and a nasty crosswind. With a three-iron, Woods lofted the ball over the trees and stopped the ball on the green about 20 feet from the hole. He made the putt for an unlikely, or at least unexpected, birdie.

Said Woods: “It was one of the all-time best shots that I’ve had.”

As for Funk, his dramatics came at the par-five seventh (his 16th hole) when he was in the green-side rough after his third shot, about 20 yards from the hole. Funk lofted the ball in the air and it slam-dunked straight into the hole.

Said Funk: “I hit it harder than I wanted to, but obviously, it turned out really good.”

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Greg Norman is years past his prime and not considered a factor at majors anymore, yet he still thinks he has a chance every time he shows up.

Norman shot one-over 73 on Saturday and is two-over 218 after 54 holes, 11 shots back of Justin Leonard.

“In fact, I’m very disappointed, to tell you the truth,” he said. “I thought I had a good chance to finish one or two under, and I figured that would have been right in there. I had played well enough to do that. I really walked away with nothing out of the round.”

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Woods knows how to protect a lead on the last day of major, but what’s he going to do today if he has to play catch-up on the back nine?

Woods says he will not change his game plan if he is trailing.

“What hole can you be aggressive on?” Woods said. “There really isn’t. You’ve just got to keep plugging along and give yourself putts at it.”

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It appeared for a moment that Rich Beem might have to take a two-stroke penalty after using his cap to wipe clean his line near the 15th green, but Beem insists he was in the clear.

“I knew the rule specifically,” Beem said later.

Golf rules state a player cannot use anything other than his hand to clear his line on the green.

A member of the rules committee stopped Beem after he walked off the green, but Beem was waiting.

“I was off the green and I’m allowed to do that,” Beem said he told the official.

The official checked the rule book just to be sure, and Beem was correct.