SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Phil Mickelson missed out on a 59 by a fraction of an inch yesterday in the first round of the Phoenix Open.
Mickelson had a chance to become the sixth player in PGA Tour history to break 60 with a 25-foot birdie attempt on his last hole, the par-4 ninth at TPC Scottsdale. The putt looked good all the way, and Mickelson pointed his putter at the cup as he prepared to celebrate.
Right at the end, though, the ball caught the right edge of the cup, curled 180 degrees to the other side of the hole and stayed out.
“I’m excited to shoot 60, but to see that last putt lip out the way it did and not go in, it’s crushing because you don’t get that chance very often to shoot 59,” Mickelson said.
His caddie, Jim Mackay, fell to his knees and stayed there several seconds.
“He could not have hit a better putt,” Mackay said.
Mickelson settled for an 11-under 60, matching the tournament record he already shared with Grant Waite and Mark Calcavecchia.
Singh withdraws
Vijay Singh, citing a back injury, withdrew from the Phoenix Open yesterday, a day after saying he used deer-antler spray and was “absolutely shocked” that it may contain a banned substance.
The 49-year-old Fijian revealed he used the spray in an interview with Sports Illustrated. The magazine said Singh paid one of the owners of Sports With Alternatives To Steroids $9,000 last November for the spray and other products. The company says its deer-antler substance has a banned performance-enhancer connected to human growth hormone.
Singh said in a statement he used the spray, but was not aware he may have violated the PGA Tour’s anti-doping policy.
PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said the tour is “looking into the matter.”