PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. _ With a triple bogey on the 18th hole on Saturday, Phil Mickelson finished a round of 4-over 75 that eliminated any chance he had to capture his first U.S. Open.
After receiving a standing ovation from the gallery in the packed grandstands, the San Diegan did something most unusual: He praised the U.S. Golf Association.
Mickelson ripped the USGA before the tournament, saying that the only time Open setups were fair is if it rained during tournament week.
There's been no rain this week, and Mickelson went out of his way to praise the conditions and setup.
"I'm really happy that I had this chance, this opportunity this week," Mickelson said. "I've got to hand it to the USGA for doing a great setup. It's the best I've ever seen. And it's identifying the best players."
More pointedly, he added, "It's making the players the story."
Mickelson said the biggest difference was the placement of the flagsticks.
"Instead of putting them right on the edges, they were in good spots, rewarding great shots," he said.
Mickelson wished he could have taken advantage at a site on which he's won a record-tying five AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Ams. At 4 over for the tournament, he will get an early starting time on the day he celebrates his 49th birthday.
He played the last two holes on Saturday in 4 over. After a bogey at the par-3 17th, Mickelson chose driver off the tee at the par-5 18th and tried to blast it around the bend of the fairway. But the ball found the water, and Mickelson had to re-tee.
"If I hit a good drive, I'd be able to reach (the green in two)," Mickelson said. "And really, it was a test for me. I've been working on my driver. I've actually driven the ball pretty well this week. I've had a nice turn of events with the driver. I'm hitting the ball a lot straighter, and it was really a good test for me on that last drive there. And I'm not quite there, didn't pass that last test."
He re-teed and found the fairway, but took three more shots to get on the green and two-putted for 8.
"I had many opportunities," Mickelson said. "Didn't putt well. Didn't get them to go in. I left them short the whole time. And then I finished poorly."
Knowing that this may be his last Open played at Pebble Beach _ the major doesn't return here until 2027 _ Mickelson was philosophical.
"When I'm here at Pebble Beach, there's no place that I am more grateful for the life that I've been able to lead and my career and my family and so forth," he said.
