Phil Mickelson had himself a wild Sunday at the Memorial Tournament.- At the par-4 No. 13, Mickelson putted for his second shot from 78 yards out.
- The quirky decision ultimately paid off for Mickelson, as he would go on to par the hole.
Conditions were rough this past weekend at the Memorial Tournament, with some of the best golfers in the world playing well over par thanks to rough weather, baked greens, and some treacherous rough.
The difficulty of the course was evident from the start of the weekend and came to an initial boiling point when Bryson DeChambeau unraveled on the par 5 No. 15. He shot a quintuple-bogey to leave him well short of the cut line.
On Saturday and Sunday, the course only got more challenging, with some devious pin locations forcing golfers to attempt near-impossible shots. Thanks to the heat, the greens were playing like trampolines, with even the best iron players unable to stop their balls before bouncing into the rough.
Given the harsh conditions of the course, Phil Mickelson opted to take another course of action. At the par-4 No. 13, Mickelson's drive left him 78 yards from the hole — a simple approach shot under normal circumstances.
But rather than bringing out a wedge to get onto the green, Mickelson grabbed the flat stick out of his bag, attempting what will likely be the longest putt of the season.
—Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 19, 2020
Mickelson gave it a good go, but his putt didn't quite make it to the green, coming to a rest scraping the edge of the rough with still a slight pitch left to get close to the flag.
"I saw that playing out differently in my mind," Mickelson said after his putt.
Still, the decision ultimately worked out for Mickelson. After an impressive chip on his third shot, Mickelson was able to send a short putt home to escape the hole with a well-earned par.
Mickelson is no stranger to taking indirect lines to the pin, but the show he put on during his final round on Sunday was a spectacle even by his standards.
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