Phil Mickelson vs. Sergio Garcia.
How about an instant classic, how about one of the greatest matches in Ryder Cup history?
How about 19 birdies between the two combatants?
Buried inside the Sunday rout by the United States was the head-to-head duel by Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia. It was the sixth match out and one that Mickelson really wanted to win and he did his best. Mickelson came up with 10 birdies on Sunday at Hazeltine and would have shot 63 but it wasn’t good enough to win a point.
Sergio countered with nine birdies of his own, matching Mickelson put-for-putt.
“We both played really well,” Mickelson said after the duel. “I really wanted to win but the way we both played, it was a fitting end.”
“It was amazing,” Garcia said, the look on his face told the tale that on the day, Europe would come up short. “It was a great match,” he added.
It was a see-saw match that saw neither player get more than a 1-up lead. Mickelson held a 1-up lead after 15 holes but Garcia square it with birdie at 16 and it would end in a tie.
2 Comments
beege
Hi Tom,
I think the Phil/Sergio rivalry goes back to 1999 and is not exactly friendly–their less than appreciative handshake following what was some of the most amazing putting we have seen in a long time left me to say that they aren’t going to dinner any time soon. The opposite of reed and rory who’s match was rediculous–my opinion of Phil has not changed a bit–his golf this weekend was superb. On my radio blog I predicted US 18-10 winners so i was close—the task force did not win this event–some poor play by the euro’s which was predictable because of rookies and poor play coming in by vets made the difference.
Tom Edrington
Bob, I’m putting your name in the hat to be one of the vice captains in 2018 in France.