Lefty shifts focus to PGA Championship after Firestone flop

Published>Mon, Aug 09 10 12:51 PM

Phil Mickelson swiftly turned his thoughts to next week's U.S. PGA Championship after squandering a golden opportunity to replace Tiger Woods as world number one on Sunday.

The American left-hander could have moved to the top of the rankings by finishing the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational alone in fourth place or better but he slumped into a tie for 46th.

"I wanted to have a good weekend and get a little bit of momentum going into the PGA," second-ranked Mickelson told reporters after carding a dismal eight-over-par 78 at Firestone Country Club.

"So I'll have to kind of do what I did at Augusta, with Houston the week before. I played like this in Houston and I'm going to have to try to get it turned around here in three days."

Mickelson tied for 35th at the Houston Open in April before clinching his fourth major title in the U.S. Masters at Augusta National the following week.

The year's final major, which he won at Baltusrol in 2005, starts on Thursday at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin.

Before then, Mickelson will have to bury all the memories of his stumbling finish at Firestone.

"It's hard to be upbeat after a round like today," the 40-year-old Californian said after posting a three-over total of 283 to finish 15 strokes better than Woods.

"I felt pretty good today. I felt like I was sharp and ready to go attack the golf course and make some birdies. And it just didn't happen."

Mickelson began the final round in a tie for 10th, just four shots off the lead, but he spectacularly crashed out of contention with an outward nine of six-over 41.

"The round obviously got away," he said. "It didn't feel like it was far off, but it turned out to be.

"If you miss some shots here, the rough and the trees and the challenging greens will lead to bogeys. The way I drove it, I was fighting for pars on a lot of the holes."

Asked how frustrated he was after wasting another chance to depose Woods as world number one, Mickelson replied: "If I keep finishing ahead of him every week, eventually it'll happen.

"But the problem is there are guys behind me (in the rankings) who will pass me because I'm not playing well enough right now. I've got some work to do to get my own game sharp."

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