Friday, July 6, 2001
Mickelson one shot off lead
at Western as Woods struggles
By NANCY ARMOUR
AP Sports Writer
LEMONT, Ill. (AP) — Stuck in a group
of trees so far off the fairway he was past the cart path, Phil
Mickelson put his hands on his head and studied his few options.
Two shots later, he was 4 inches from the
pin, a tap-in away from par. When you're rolling like Mickelson
is, even the tough shots seem easy.
And when you're struggling like Tiger Woods
has lately, not even a fishing vacation can bring relief.
“The goal Thursday is really just to
get into contention, not to shoot way up the leaderboard,”
said Mickelson, who followed his Greater Hartford Open win with
a bogey-free 6-under 66 Thursday to finish one back in the first
round of the Western Open.
“The goal is to have a shot on Sunday.
This is a nice start.”
Woods took last week off after finishing
out of the top 10 in consecutive tournaments for the first time
since 1999, but the break didn't seem to help. He struggled all
day, overshooting greens, missing putts and hitting shots so maddening
he actually broke a club on the 18th hole.
A double-bogey on the par-4 18th left him
at 1-over 73, eight strokes behind leader Mark Wiebe. Davis Love
III also shot a 66, tying Mickelson at one back.
“I told my wife, when I'm playing well,
I know it,” said Wiebe, who hasn't won a PGA Tour event since
1986. “I just feel like I'm playing really good golf right
now.”
Ditto for Mickelson.
After shooting a 75 in the final round of
the U.S. Open, Mickelson dug out his old psychology notebooks
from college. He practiced some visualization techniques, seeing
what he wanted to do rather than worrying about what he didn't
want to do.
The trick worked at the GHO, and the good
vibes continued Thursday as he birdied his first hole. He hasn't
had a bogey since the 15th hole in the second round of the GHO,
a 57-hole streak.
Not even those trees on the par-5 9th could
stop him. About 300 yards from the front of the green, Mickelson
tried to slice a driver. Instead, his shot landed in the trees.
He hit into a bunker in front of the green,
and then blasted out, with the ball rolling within 4 inches of
the hole. He tapped in for par, smiling widely as the crowd roared.
“You are not going to go low four days,
but when you do have it and you start making some putts, you need
to capitalize on those rounds,” he said. “I still need
to have another one or two low rounds to be on top Sunday.”
Despite a five-day trip to Alaska last week,
Woods looked like he could use another vacation. He three-putted
the par-4 No. 3 for a bogey, and had to fight just to make par
on most holes.
His frustration was evident on the par-4
No. 7, when he overshot the green by about 20 feet on his second
shot. As the crowd groaned, Woods slammed his club into the ground
and then tossed it backward.
Even when he hit good shots he didn't seem
to enjoy it. On No. 9, his drive landed in the right rough, about
20 feet behind a line of trees.
The trees were too tall to go over, and
there was only a 61/2-foot gap that he could shoot through. But
instead of playing it safe, Woods hit a low whistler through the
gap, just missing the hanging branches.
Even though the shot landed in a bunker,
it was still impressive. But Woods just walked on.
He finally birdied a hole on the par-3 14th,
but things got really ugly on 18. He put his second shot in the
water, breaking his club afterward, and then two putted.
He refused to talk after his round, a rarity.
Wiebe didn't even realize he was playing
bogey-free golf until he finished. He birdied three holes in a
row on the back nine — Nos. 11, 12 and 13 — and picked
up another on No. 17.
He almost birdied 18, but his 22-foot downhill
putt lipped out ever so slowly. Wiebe bent his knees, and then
smiled.
“It's a great round anyway,” he
said. “I would have loved to shoot 64, but 65 is not bad.”
Love, who is trying to build up his stamina
after missing two months earlier this season with a bulging disc,
wasn't even supposed to play the Western Open. With plans to play
Monday and Tuesday before leaving for the British Open, he worried
about overextending himself.
But when he missed the cut at the Greater
Hartford last week, he decided to come to Cog Hill. He got off
to a fast start, with birdies on three of his first four holes.
“I kind of got on a roll,” Love
said. “I'm surprised I didn't get a couple of more the way
I was going.”
Divots:
Steve Stricker's wife, Nicki, has been his caddie for most of
his career. Last week, he returned the favor. Stricker caddied
for his wife in the Madison City Women's Tournament, which Nicki
lost in a playoff. ... Defending champion Robert Allenby shot
a 2-over 74. ... Vijay Singh had an eagle on the par-5 11th hole.
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