Charles Schwab Challenge: Phil Mickelson leads the list of players missing the cut
What a difference a week makes – a bogey at the last at Colonial Country Club sent freshly minted PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson home as the most notable casualty of the 36-hole cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas.
Mickelson made a special emphasis on focusing and slowing down his routine last week at the 103rd PGA and it worked wonders. He may have been running on a low battery this week after exhausting all his energies to get to the house and hold off Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen and win his sixth major title at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course.
When Mickelson, who became the oldest man to win a major at age 50, was asked to describe his disappointing opening-round 73 on Thursday, he said, “Yeah, I didn’t play well. I shot 3-over. But I won the PGA, so…”
Laughter ensued. He didn’t go down without a fight on Friday. Despite an opening-hole bogey, Mickelson rebounded to make three birdies in a four-hole stretch beginning at No. 6 and was back to even par for the tournament after a 10-foot birdie at 15. He was a stroke within the cut line, but then he bogeyed 16. He managed a par at 17 and hit his tee shot into the fairway at 18. But his approach from 139 yards found the left green side bunker and he failed to get up and down.
“I love this tournament and I’m sad I will not be here for two more days,” Mickelson said.
Instead, he can head home and recharge the batteries and previously said he plans to spend the next two weeks prepping for the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.
Seventy-five golfers in all made the cut at 1-over 141, with Matt Kuchar and Abraham Ancer among those who straddled the right side of the cutline. Joining Mickelson on the wrong side of the line were several notables, including a bunch of European Ryder Cup stars of recent vintage and American hopefuls Patrick Reed and Scottie Scheffler.
Lee Westwood
Lee Westwood reacts to his putt on the third green during the final round of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass - Stadium Course. (Photo: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)
The Englishman has cooled off since his back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players in March, missing his third cut in his last seven starts and hasn't recorded a top-20 finish in a stroke-play event since Players. After a T-71 finish at the PGA Championship, Westwood combined a poor ball striking week (losing nearly two strokes tee-to-green) and poor performance around and on the greens (2 for 7 scrambling on Thursday and lost more than 2 strokes putting). That combination is a sure-fire ticket to a short week.
Henrik Stenson
FORT WORTH, TEXAS - MAY 28: Henrik Stenson of Sweden hits his tee shot on the sixth hole during the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club on May 28, 2021 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Henrik Stenson snapped a streak of four straight made cuts in a row (72-73—145). His Strokes Gained: Approach the Green was a dismal -3.511 on Friday and he lost strokes on the green both rounds. The former British Open champ appeared to be turning the corner with some steadier play, but this was a step backwards and suggests there is more fine-tuning to be done.
Graeme McDowell
Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland looks on during the first round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic at El Camaleon Mayakoba Golf Course on November 15, 2019 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
The Northern Irishman missed his third straight cut (excluding team events) and has only one top-10 finish this year. There's not much good to report here in shooting a pair of 74s. But G-Mac will be working on his short game after getting up and down just 4 of 15 times and losing more than 4 strokes to the field on the greens. He also failed to qualify for the U.S. Open on Monday. In short, not a good week on the links.
Scottie Scheffler
Scottie Scheffler reacts to his shot from the 18th tee during the first round of The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National GC. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
Texan Scottie Scheffler was cruising along at 2 under in his opening round when he doubled the par-5 11th and it all fell apart from there. He stumbled home in 70 and followed up with a 73. Four bogeys on his first nine on Friday did him in. Scheffler had played the weekend in his last seven starts, and 10 of his last 12. He was the definition of drive for show, putt for dough: he ranked 8th in SG: Off-the-tee but 107th in SG: Putting, losing nearly three strokes to field and especially dreadful on Friday. He'll try to get back on the horse next week at the Memorial.
Patrick Reed
KIAWAH ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA - MAY 21: Patrick Reed of the United States plays his shot from the 15th tee during the second round of the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island Resort's Ocean Course on May 21, 2021 in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Patrick Reed missed just his fourth cut in 15 starts this season. He got off to a decent enough start with a 68 on Thursday, but made six bogeys on Friday, including two of the last five holes, to shoot 4-over 74 and got sent packing. His approach-to-the-green game and a cold putter did him in. Reed is back in action next week at the Memorial.
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