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MAMARONECK, NEW YORK | Phil Mickelson left the U.S. Open on Friday night wondering if it was the last time he’ll tee it up in the one major championship he’s never won.
Tiger Woods left looking forward to some time off, only to be reminded he’s playing an exhibition with Rory McIlroy and others Tuesday to celebrate the opening of a course he designed at Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri.
And Jordan Spieth left Winged Foot still wondering if and when he will solve the problems that haunt his game.
The three of them shot a combined 37-over par in missing the U.S. Open cut. Woods and Spieth opened with 3-over-par 73s on Thursday and that was the high point for the three of them. Mickelson (above) shot himself out of contention with an opening 79. Spieth signed for 81 on Friday.
Let’s start with Woods who hasn’t finished inside the top 35 in his past six starts.
“Physically it was frustrating that I didn’t drive the ball as well as I needed to,” Woods said. “Iron play was pretty much the way it has been. It’s been good, and I finally putted well. But on this golf course it’s imperative that you hit fairways, and I did not do that.”
Woods said he will play two events this fall after his exhibition – the Zozo Championship in October, which has been relocated to Sherwood Country Club near Los Angeles, California, and the Masters.
“Now that I have kids ... missing cuts has a different perspective to it, but still, the whole goal of entering an event is to win, and when I don’t give myself that opportunity over the weekend, it doesn't feel good,” Woods said.
Spieth hit just seven fairways in 36 holes and admitted he’s still searching for the form that took him to the top of the world.
“There's a lot that’s off,” Spieth said. “I’m not really sure. If I knew, I’d fix it. So I’m kind of just working through it and looking forward to having a little more time off to figure it out.
“I’m late behind it. The second I try to get back out in front, it’s hooking. Standing on a tee at the U.S. Open and not exactly knowing where the ball is going to go is not a great feeling. I know you guys probably haven’t experienced that before, but it’s not incredibly enjoyable.”
As for Mickelson (pictured above), he hit just two fairways in the first round, killing the hopeful notion that he might contend again at the site of his most infamous near miss in the U.S. Open.
As he left Winged Foot Friday afternoon, he wasn’t sure if he will turn his focus to the PGA Champions Tour, in which he recently won his debut event. He said his plan is to take a break from golf.
Having said before that he will not accept a special exemption into future U.S. Opens and will only play if he has qualified, it raised the question of whether Mickelson has made his last start in the event.
“I don’t know,” he said.
Ron Green Jr.