ARDMORE, Pa. - The frustration was visible on Phil Mickelson’s face Saturday in the third round of the U.S. Open. If his birdie attempts weren’t burning the edge of the hole, they were going in a different direction than what Mickelson had expected, a trait of the befuddling greens on Merion Golf Club’s East Course.
But Mickelson never allowed himself to become distracted by the near-misses and finally broke through on the back nine with three birdies that gave him a real chance to win his very first national championship today, his 43d birthday.
Mickelson fired an even par 70 for a 54-hole score of 209, the only player to finish three rounds under par. He held a 1-stroke lead over Hunter Mahan, Steve Stricker and Charl Schwartzel, and was up by two shots over Justin Rose, Luke Donald and Billy Horschel, who shared the 36-hole lead with Mickelson.
The third round likely marked the end of Tiger Woods’ bid to end a drought in majors that extends back five years. Woods, 9 over, shot a 76 and goes into the final round looking at a 10-stroke deficit.
A four-time major champion, Mickelson has been in this position before but has fallen short, finishing as the Open runner-up five times. However, this is the first time he has held sole possession of the lead entering the final round; he was co-leader at Winged Foot with England’s Kenneth Ferrie in 2006 before Australia’s Geoff Oglivy won by a stroke.
He said he won’t feel the heat of having to win one, even though his chances may be diminishing as he gets older.
“I don’t think I feel any more pressure than anybody else who wants to win the tournament, a major championship, the U.S. Open,” he said. “But it would certainly mean a lot to me. This is a tournament for years I’ve had opportunities, I’ve come close. It would mean a lot if I could play some of my best golf, certainly if I can play the way I have been.”
Mickelson showed the patience of a veteran on Saturday, especially on the front nine where the birdie putts weren’t dropping. He was 2 over for the day at the turn and trailed by three strokes.
But the round turned at the 10th and 11th holes where he sank birdie putts of 4 and 15 feet. He topped it off with a 10-footer for a birdie 2 at the 254-yard 17th hole. Even though he finished with a bogey at the brutal 18th (a hole he birdied Friday), he still had a 1-stroke lead and plenty of optimism.
“I love being in the thick of it,” Mickelson said. “I’ve had opportunities in years past and it has been so fun, even though it’s been heartbreaking to come so close a number of times and let it slide. But I feel better equipped than I have ever felt heading into the final round of a U.S. Open.”
Mickelson referred to ball-striking and putting as better than ever, and that he feels “very comfortable” on a Merion course that has taken a chunk out of many of the world’s best players this week.
Only nine players were within five shots of Mickelson entering the final round. Other than Mickelson, the other challengers have combined for one major - Schwartzel’s victory in the 2011 Masters.
Schwartzel gained the lead with a birdie at No. 10 and was joined in first by Donald, and, later, Mahan. But Schwartzel and Mahan bogeyed their last two holes and Donald, who led Mickelson by 1 shot when standing on the tee box at 17, finished up bogey-double bogey.
Donald, an Englishman, played almost flawlessly for 15 holes, reaching 2 under, ran out of gas once he hit the home stretch of holes at Merion Golf Club, especially the difficult quarry holes at Nos. 16-18.
The first hiccup came at 15, after he dropped an approach shot 4 feet from the pin. Donald missed the putt that would have moved him to 3 under and into sole possession of the lead. He made par at 16, though, and held a 1-stroke lead over Mahan and Schwartzel who went bogey-bogey on the final two holes.
Donald went one worse, however, bogeying 17 and double bogeying 18 to drop to 1-over for the tournament and into a three-way tie for fifth with Horschel and Rose.
Donald’s tee shot at the par-3 17th and his approach shot at the par-4 18th both went right.
“It might be a little bit of fatigue, but it was both yardages I had to get a little extra out of the 2-iron,” Donald said. “And my poor swings [are] when I attack too hard from the top and I get out of sync and they go right. And unfortunately those holes are playing tough.”
For most of Saturday, Donald outplayed Mickelson, one of his playing partners, along with Horschel.
“It was disappointing,” Donald said of his finish. “But I’ll take the positives out of today, a really solid 16 holes of golf that I played and I’m only two back.”
Donald finished with a 71.
Schwartzel and Mahan shot 1-under 69s despite losing two strokes on the final two holes.
“Whenever you shoot under par on Saturday at the U.S. Open, you can’t be too disappointed,” Schwartzel said. “Anything under par is fantastic here.”
Sports, Pages 23 on 06/16/2013