MASTERS ROUNDUP: MICKELSON, KOEPKA SHARE SECOND, REED T4
HyFlyers GC Captain Phil Mickelson produced a record-setting final round Sunday at the Masters, shooting a 7-under 65 in a spirited bid to claim a fourth green jacket.
Mickelson and Smash GC Captain Brooks Koepka finished in a tie for second behind winner Jon Rahm of Spain, who won the second major of his career. Rahm finished at 12 under, with Mickelson and Koepka were at 8 under. Koepka, the 54-hole leader, shot a 75 on a day that included the completion of the third round Sunday morning after inclement weather suspended play Saturday afternoon.
Patrick Reed of 4Aces GC shot a 3-under 68 that moved him into a tie for fourth at 7 under.
Mickelson, Koepka and Reed were the top finishers among the 18 LIV Golf League members who played in the year’s first major. Twelve of those players made the cut.
Mickelson’s 65 was his best final-round performance in 30 starts at Augusta National and matches his career-best score. It’s also the lowest round ever shot at the Masters by a player age 50 or older.
It’s also his best finish at the Masters since a tie for second in 2015.
“It just reaffirms that I knew I was close,” Mickelson said. “I’ve been hitting quality shots. This doesn’t feel like a fluke. It wasn’t like I hit shots I haven’t been hitting. I stayed present and didn’t make loose swings or those bad swings at an inopportune time. I stayed very present and calm throughout, then executed and had a blast.”
After suffering his lone bogey of the day at the par-4 fifth, Mickelson bounced back a tee shot at the par-3 sixth to 3 feet for birdie, then an approach shot at the par-4 seventh to 5 feet for another birdie. He was just heating up.
On the back nine, he rolled in a 23-foot birdie putt at the 12th, birdied the par-5 13th and 15th, and nearly holed out for eagle at the par-4 17th. He then finished his round with an 11-foot birdie putt at the 18th for a final-nine 31.
“I had so much fun today,” Mickelson said. “I feel like I’ve been hitting these type of quality shots, but I have not been staying focused and present for the upcoming shot, and I make a lot of mistakes, kind of like you saw on Thursday, and that cost me a bunch of strokes. To come out today and play the way I did and hit the shots when I needed, it’s so much fun. I’m grateful to be a part of this tournament and to be here competing and then to play well, it means a lot.”
Mickelson has yet to finish inside the points (top 24) for the HyFlyers this season, but he’s hoping his Masters performance will lead to better results, both for the LIV Golf League and the rest of his major starts. A win at this year’s U.S. Open would give Mickelson the career Grand Slam.
“I know I’ve been playing really well,” Mickelson said. “I’ve been shooting low scores back home. I’ve been playing consistently well. When I’ve been competing, I have not been staying present. I haven’t been letting it happen, kind of forcing it. I just haven’t been scoring the way I know I can.
“Today is hopefully a stepping stone to really kickstart the rest of the year and continue some great play because I have a unique opportunity. At 52, no physical injuries, no physical problems, being able to swing a club the way I want to, to do things in the game that not many people have had a chance to do later in life.
“I’ve kind of really worked hard in the offseason to get in shape, to get ready for this upcoming season, and I’m out there hitting shots and not scoring. So it’s been frustrating. Today was really a fun day. Hopefully I’ll be able to use this again as a springboard for the rest year.”
TOUGH DAY FOR KOEPKA
Brooks Koepka entered the third round with a two-stroke lead and expanded it to four before play was suspended due to inclement weather Saturday.
He could never regain the momentum on a long final day at Augusta National on Sunday. He completed a third-round 73 that still left him with a two-shot lead before finishing with the final-round 75. In one stretch, he played 22 holes without a birdie while Jon Rahm gained the lead and then built his advantage.
“I just kind of played average, and I didn’t get any good breaks, either,” Koepka said. “… That’s how it goes sometimes. But I didn’t feel like I played too bad, and then obviously just tried to give it a run there at the end, but just wasn’t good enough. Congrats to Jon. …
“Just some days you have it, some days you don’t, and today wasn’t one of those.”
The four-time major winner will look to add to his total in the remaining three majors of the season. Even without winning, he feels good about his chances. It just may take awhile to see the positives.
“Not today. Probably not for the next few days,” he said. “But eventually it will be a positive. I’d say probably give it a week, and I’ll start to see some positives out of it and carry this over to the PGA, the U.S. Open and The Open.
“But right now, it’s kind of tough to see, if I’m honest, probably for the next few hours and the next few days.”
REED CLIMBS INSIDE TOP FIVE
Patrick Reed produced his best Masters result since winning in 2018, but the final round did not start smoothly. An errant tee shot at the second led to a double bogey, but from there, Reed found the hot hand en route to shooting 68.
He bounced back with a birdie at the par-4 third, then reeled off consecutive birdies on holes 6, 7 and 8. After birdies at 12 and 13, Reed was within striking distance but he couldn’t get up and down to save par at 14.
Still, it was a final round that included eight birdies.
“A little up, a little down, a little left, a little right,” Reed said when asked to assess his round. “It was all right. I felt like I hit the ball a little better today than I scored. …
“I mean, don’t really think I hit a good golf shot on 2 to make 7, and then I bounced back with hitting it solid again, and I make birdie on 3 and miss good looks on 4, 5, made the one on 6 and just kind of like an up-and-down day like that. Hit a lot of good golf shots, ended up pretty close. Hit some that didn’t end up where I wanted them to and made a couple putts.”
Reed said he appreciated the respect shown by the patrons at Augusta National.
“The fans were good,” he said. “I heard a lot of ‘Go 4Aces’ out there, had some cheers and the usual every once in a while a little kind of murmurs here and there. As a whole, everyone was great. They were very respectful, and the fans were how they always are. They’re always really good.”
Photo, Video & Media Credit: All photos herein are the property of LIV Golf and were published by the Tee Box Times with their permission and consent. All content herein, other than property published by permission stated, is the property of teeboxtimes.com and any reproduction, other than normal social media sharing, is strictly prohibited. Copyright ©, teeboxtimes.com. For reprint permission contact us a rick@groupduncan.com
