Another day, another outrageous Phil Mickelson moment to add to the ever-growing list! What happened this time, you may ask? Well, it involves two drivers, one of which came from the pine straw, a shot that finished on the cart path, and a flop shot to five-feet...
The birdie, which you can watch here via The Masters website, started on the par 5 second with the three-time Green Jacket winner pulling his tee shot right and narrowly avoiding the fairway bunker that looms around the 300-yard mark.
LOL. pic.twitter.com/M5DMqRKL0mApril 6, 2023
Taking a big bounce, his ball shot forward through the trees and pine straw, eventually coming to rest on an uphill lie that required a shot threaded through the trees. Obviously, if it had been you or me, the wedge or iron would be coming out with a chip-out following.
However, this is Phil Mickelson we are talking about here and, in typical 'Phil The Thrill' style, he pulled out the driver, took his stance, and fired a shot that caught one of the overhanging branches. Luckily, for the American, it managed to get through them, with the golf ball eventually coming to rest on the cart path to the left of the green. This came after it had been smashed about on the concrete for a good 30 seconds.
So, what happened next? Well, after taking relief, Mickelson played yet another flamboyant shot, this time a flop shot that landed softly on the green and feathered its way down towards the flag.
Faced with a five-footer for a birdie, it was almost inevitable that he was going to duly roll it in and, at the par 5, that's exactly what he did, with Mickelson striking the putt to the centre of the hole for a birdie four. From there, he bogeyed the third, with a near hole-in-one at the fourth making up for the early dropped shot.
It's no secret that the 52-year-old loves Augusta National, with Lefty a three-time winner of the tournament. His most iconic victory came in 2010 when, on the par 5 13th, he hit one of the best shots in Masters history. Playing from the pine straw, the American had to thread his shot through a number of trees and clear the creek that guards the front of the green.
Striking his six-iron, he barely cleared the water, with his ball coming to rest just short of the flag and, after rolling in his eagle putt, he went on to win the tournament by three shots from Lee Westwood.
