|
 |
 |
|
|
You are in: Special Events: 2001: USPGA |
|
|
|
Monday, 20 August, 2001, 10:59 GMT 11:59 UK
Major frustration grows for Mickelson
Mickelson sees his Major hopes evaporate on the 18th
BBC Sport Online looks at the nearly man of golf - USPGA runner-up Phil Mickelson
For a few brief seconds at Atlanta Athletic Club on Sunday, Phil Mickelson stood on top of the golfing world. But, after setting the lowest total in Major history with his 14-under-par 266, the left-hander's record lasted for less than a minute before David Toms stepped forward. After a conservative approach, a 10-foot putt on the 18th green gave the comparatively unknown 34-year-old from Louisiana a closing 69 and a 15-under aggregate of 265.
It was a cruel blow for Mickelson, not so much because he deserved to win - a bogey at the 16th put paid to that - but because he has now been here so often before. This was his 10th top-three finish in a 2001 season that has included two PGA Tour victories but, once again, no Major championship. He has now tried and failed in 31 Major assaults and the strain is starting to show. If Colin Montgomerie has long been the nearly man of golf on the European side of the Atlantic, there is a man just as qualified living across the pond. In the 1999 USPGA championship, it was Payne Stewart who snatched a one-shot victory from 31-year-old Mickelson, an occasion that clearly still plays on his mind. "The first thing that went through my mind was '99 at Pinehurst," he said. "Payne chipped up to 15 foot and drained it to beat me by one. "I had that same feeling as David's putt was just going to go in without a doubt.
"I really felt like this year was a year when my game was going to break through and that I've played better this year week-in and week-out than I ever had. "All areas have been improved from years past - I felt that this was certainly the year where I was going to win a Major. "The thing that's really disappointing was that I really believed that had I won this week I was going to win Player of the Year - not winning pretty much kills my chances." Three times on Sunday Mickelson pulled back a two-shot deficit, but was never able to get his nose in front. "If I could have got a one-up lead, that would have changed the momentum," said the man from San Diego. "The outlook from being a leader to actually trailing is actually difficult to overcome. "I was just never able to get ahead," he said. "I'm not going to beat myself up but I'm certainly disappointed and I've got a long time now between Majors - a long time before Augusta.
"The thing is everybody here's talking about trying to break through and win one Major - I'm trying to win a bunch of Majors and what's frustrating is I can't get by the first one. "It's not as though I'm trying to win just one Major and everything will be great - I really believe I can win a bunch." Mickelson remains the world number two, his place in the Ryder Cup team for The Belfry was assured long ago. But how he deals with the frustration over the winter months could well decide the future direction of his career. More Major failure next year and the psychological gap between champion and nearly man will seem increasingly unbreachable. As he admitted on Sunday night: "The off-season is going to be a long one." |
|
Top USPGA stories now:
Links to more USPGA stories are at the foot of the page.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
 E-mail this story to a friend |
|
|
|
Links to more USPGA stories |
|
|
|
||
 |
||||
 |
|
Back to top
|
||
|
------------------------------------------------------------ BBC News >> | BBC Weather >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII | News Sources | Privacy |
