Phil Mickelson didn’t have his best day Saturday at the Travelers Championship. Did that cost him a chance for a win on Sunday?
CROMWELL, Conn. — Phil Mickelson entered Saturday’s third round as the sole leader of the Travelers Championship. A shot at his first victory in his first event since turning 50 years old 11 days ago seemed like a real possibility.
After a less-than-stellar 71 in Saturday’s third round, and with a leaderboard complete with big names and red-hot players posting numbers in the low 60s, is it still a possibility?
Here’s a look at everything from Mickelson’s chances to Bryson DeChambeau’s game of chance to a refresher course on Brendon Todd and more to get set for what could be an interesting Sunday at the Travelers:
Saturday wasn’t his best day at the office, that’s for sure. Maybe it was the early start. He finished his second round, a dazzling 63 that nearly included a hole-out from the fairway at the 18th, after 5 p.m. ET on Friday and was back on the tee at 9:15 a.m. Saturday morning. OK, playing two rounds of golf 16 hours apart might not seem like the hardest thing in the world, but he did just turn 50. And despite his fitness routine and his leaner frame, well, he did just turn 50.
On a day when it seemed that everybody in the field was posting a number in the 60s, Mickelson shot a 1-over 71. Mickelson and Will Gordon, who were in the same threesome on Saturday, were the only two players in the top 20 not to shoot in the 60s.
So what does all this mean for Sunday? There’s a good news/bad news way to look at this: Bad news is he’s 6 shots behind Todd; good news is he’s tied for seventh, meaning there aren’t a lot of people to jump between him and Todd.
„I haven’t played great this year. I’ve missed a lot of cuts, and the next thing I know my game is starting to come back and I can sense it,“ Mickelson said. „I’m going to come out tomorrow and give it my best to go low. I know I’m playing well enough to do that.“
By now, everybody knows about the new Bryson DeChambeau.
