Mickelson's miscues

Phil Mickelson, five times a runner up at U.S. Opens, was considered a favorite to win at Congressional this week. Unfortunately for Lefty, it turned into his worst U.S. Open since a missed cut in 2007.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents

BETHESDA, Md. -- Phil Mickelson's 21st U.S. Open didn't get off to the best of starts when he found the water off the tee at the 10th hole, his first of the week, and made double bogey.

It didn't end well, either, as Mickelson double bogeyed the 18th on Sunday for the second time this week. The miscue stung even more because he had just made three birdies in the four previous holes to get to 2 under.

That's the way the big lefthander's week went, though. And Mickelson was philosophical when reminded of the difficult start.

"That stuff happens," he said. "I thought the course was set up great. I thought that the soft conditions obviously made it a little bit easier than everybody had hoped. But the setup was wonderful.

"I thought it was a well-run event. The people came out and really supported the tournament, and I just didn't play how I had hoped."

Mickelson played the first two rounds with Rory McIlroy, opening with a frustrating 74 -- on his 41st birthday, no less -- before threatening to get back into the mix on Friday. But the first double bogey at the 18th brought him back in at 69, which was Mickelson's lone sub-par round of the week.

The five-time U.S. Open runner-up started the weekend at 1 over for the tournament. Granted, it was 10 strokes behind McIlroy, but Mickelson is nothing if not explosive and can make up ground quickly when he gets things going. It just didn't happen on Saturday.

Mickelson's round of 77 was his highest since he shot the same score in the second round of the 2007 U.S. Open. His performance on the back nine was dismal, with three bogeys and back-to-back double bogeys in that closing 42.

Asked Sunday what he would take away from the week at Congressional, Mickelson said he wasn't sure he had a "great answer." But the four-time major champion is energized for the string of important tournaments on tap over the next four months.

"It just gets me more geared up to look forward to the British," Mickelson said. "We have some big tournaments, the British and the PGA, coming up as well as the FedExCup, so I'll have the next two weeks to try and get my game ready and head over to Europe."

As far as McIlroy is concerned, count Mickelson among the many impressed by the young Northern Irishman. He said it's "pretty cool" to see McIlroy perform so well after his final-round meltdown at Augusta National two months ago.

"You can tell that Rory has had this type of talent in him for some time now, and to see him putting it together is pretty neat to see," Mickelson said.