For a short time on the back nine at Riviera Sunday, Phil Mickelson had his chances.
Mickelson had a chance to make a run at eventual winner Bubba Watson, he found himself nine-under with three holes to play. A couple of birdies and who knows what might happen?
But Mickelson once again shot himself in the foot with back-to-back bogeys at the 15th and 16th holes. He rebounded with a birdie at the par five 17th but the damage was done. Instead of a possible tie for second, his eight-under total got him a tie for sixth.
It marked three straight good weeks for Mickelson. He tied for fifth in Phoenix and tied for second at Pebble Beach.
He’ll now take some time off before he competes in a couple of weeks at the WGC-Mexico.
“I’ll rest and recover but still try and keep my game sharp,” Mickelson said.
He wasn’t the only big name to have a good week.
World’s No. 2 Jordan Spieth closed with 67 and finished tied for ninth at seven-under. He was joined by No. 4 Justin Thomas, who closed with 70 after the week’s low round — a 64 on Saturday.
World’s No. 1 Dustin Johnson recovered from a horrible opening round and played well enough the rest of the way to shoot four-under and tie for 16th. Rory McIlroy’s final round 68 got him to three-under and a tie for 20th.
