PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy played the 18th hole Friday needing birdies to make the cut and play the weekend.
McIlroy drained a 13-foot birdie putt to keep himself around for the weekend. Mickelson parred it, missing a 28-foot birdie putt and missing the cut by one shot.
Mickelson is 23-over in his career on No. 18 and has not birdied it since the second round of the 2011 Players.
“I feel just as good as the guys on top of the leaderboard right now,’’ said McIlroy, who had to overcame a 42 on the front nine. “I’m really proud of myself, … happy with myself that I was able to [rally]. I definitely could have thrown in. … Walking off the eighth tee I bent my 3-iron over my shoulders. It’s like a boomerang. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind in the middle of that round.’’
McIlroy rebounded with a 32 on the back.
Mickelson never could get himself on the right side of the cut line all day.
“I don’t know what to say,’’ Mickelson said. “I don’t feel bad about the game, but mentally I’m just really soft right now. I’m having a hard time focusing on the shot. I’m having a hard time seeing the ball go in the hole. But the physical game doesn’t feel bad. I don’t feel bad about the way I’m hitting it.
“I don’t feel like the misses are bad. I haven’t driven the ball this well ever, but getting the ball to the hole, getting the shots close, getting the putts to go, I just haven’t been able to do it. So I feel like it’s more of a mental issue and I’ll go home and see if I can work on it.’’
Mickelson will take the next two weeks off, then play Memorial and Memphis leading to the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, where he will be trying to complete a career grand slam.
“He really didn’t play that bad; he just didn’t get anything to go in the hole,’’ said Dustin Johnson, who played the first two rounds with Mickelson. “In the last two days there were 15, 16 putts that could have gone in the hole that didn’t. He was just burning the edge.’’
Jordan Spieth, at age 20, is not old enough to legally drink alcohol. But he appears old enough and quite ready to win The Players Championship — as evidenced by his 6-under 66 Friday that has him at 11-under, one shot out of the lead entering the weekend. Spieth is the only player in the field who has not bogeyed a hole.
“Tee to green, I feel like this was one of the best ball-striking rounds I’ve had in a long time,’’ Spieth said. “I put myself in a lot of great positions to make birdies. It was very stress-free, and I’d like to have that the next two days.’’
Graeme McDowell, who played with Spieth the first two rounds, said: “He’s just a very, very solid player, doesn’t do anything wrong. Anybody that shoots 11‑-under for two days is going to look pretty good, especially around here. He’s a great player. I really enjoyed playing with him. He’s very mature beyond his years. His display at Augusta, a first-timer there, and his display here as a first-timer … he’s got all the tools.’’
Aaron Baddeley, who walked to the 17th tee Friday at 1-over par and with a chance to make the cut, hit two shots into the water and walked away with a quadruple-bogey 6.
Of everyone in the field this week, Baddeley has hit the most balls in the water in his career with 10 — three more than Mickelson and Brian Davis, who each have seven. Baddeley is 16-over-par on the hole in his career.
A short time after Baddeley’s problems on 17, William McGirt had a “Tin Cup’’ moment, putting two in the water from the tee, 147 yards away from the flag. He hit his third shot into the pot bunker in front of the green and took an 8 on the hole.