Mickelson fizzles in Scotland

Phil Mickelson got another chance after hitting a wayward tee shot at the 72nd hole.

The next time around was even worse.

A faulty driver cost Mickelson his first PGA European Tour victory, as France’s Gregory Havret rallied to win the Scottish Open on the first playoff hole Sunday at Luss. Not the sort of finish Mickelson wanted heading to the British Open, which begins Thursday at Carnoustie, about a two-hour drive away.

Mickelson still has the memory of that U.S. Open meltdown at Winged Foot 13 months ago, where a terrible drive on the 72nd hole led to a double bogey -- and left him one shot behind winner Geoff Ogilvy.

“I really struggled off the tee, and the back nine was a fight for me,” said Mickelson, who bogeyed three of his last five holes at Loch Lomond, including the 18th twice.

Havret secured the win with a six-foot par putt in the playoff that completed an up-and-down from a greenside bunker. He got into the playoff with a final-round 68 to match Mickelson (69) at 14-under 270. With a one-shot lead going to the final hole of regulation, Mickelson had driven into thick rough along the right side of the fairway. He needed a chip shot and two putts for bogey while Havret got down in two from 15 feet for par.

In the playoff, Mickelson’s drive was worse, plopping into shin-high reeds along the water on the left side of the fairway. It forced him to hit an awkward shot that skidded sideways back into the fairway. His third shot wound up on the fringe at the back of the green, leading to another bogey. “I just tried to make a good swing and blocked it left,” Mickelson said. “I hit a good shot out of the swamp, but I hit the third shot way too hard.”

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Morgan Pressel’s hole in one got Se Ri Pak’s attention.

Trailing briefly by three shots after Pressel aced the sixth hole, Pak regained the lead with a birdie at the 15th hole at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio, and went on to match an LPGA Tour record with her fifth victory at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.

Pak, also the Farr winner in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2003, equaled the mark set by Mickey Wright, who won the Sea Island Open in 1957-58, ‘60, ‘62-’63, and Annika Sorenstam, who has won the Samsung World Championship and Mizuno Classic five times each. Pak finished at 17-under 267 and collected the $195,000 winner’s check. Pressel ended up three shots back at 270.

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Jonathan Byrd won the John Deere Classic at Silvis, Ill., to qualify for the British Open, birdieing three of the final five holes at TPC Deere Run for a five-under 66 and a one-shot victory over Tim Clark.

It was the third PGA Tour victory for Byrd, who finished at 18-under 266 and earned $738,000. Clark closed with a 68.

Byrd, who had missed four consecutive cuts, didn’t bother to bring his passport, so he’ll have to go home to Georgia before heading for Scotland.

“I haven’t been playing well, and, I don’t know, maybe I thought that would be a jinx or something,” he said.

But nothing stopped Byrd, who moved into a tie with Clark with a birdie on 17, a hole that Clark bogeyed. Byrd finished with a par on 18, and Clark couldn’t produce the birdie he needed to force a playoff.

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R.W. Eaks, who never finished better than seventh in a PGA Tour event and was winless in 90 events over six seasons on the Champions Tour, shot a six-under 66 to win the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open at Endicott N.Y.

Eaks completed the three rounds over the En-Joie Golf Club course at 17-under 199, winning by three shots.