Change Agent

A bogey at No. 15 began Mickelson's lousy homestretch.

"I've been telling my friends, my trainer, the people around me, that I am close," said Singh, who practiced putting until near dusk Saturday evening, then for another couple hours off-campus Sunday morning. After a nifty save on No. 7, where he planted one foot in the sand, Singh led by five over Westwood, who made a double bogey mess out of that par 3. But then Singh left a 6½-footer for par short—short!—on No. 8, and Westwood reversed gears with a birdie. At No. 11 Singh missed a 7½-footer for par. Then at No. 13, another eight-footer for par avoided darkness. When another birdie attempt refused to drop at No. 16, statisticians gone wild declared that he was only eight of 18 for the week from four-to-eight feet. "So what do I do?" Singh moaned later, through a smile. "I leave myself two more of those. Like I said, I will remember the ones that went in because that gives me confidence. If you don't make anything, that's different. At least, most of the time, the ball is going where I aim it, and it looks like it could go in even when it isn't."

There was precious little wrong with Singh's irons, but when the putter is moody, sometimes even inside-the-leather isn't near enough. His "people"—from agent Clarke Jones to trainer Jeff Fronk to caddie Chad Reynolds—all seemed to agree that it would have been a shame for Singh to lose when he hit the ball with such authority. Meanwhile, he was telling them to keep the faith. Victory is near. "The swing [changes I made] toward the end of last year are finally coming together," said Singh. "And being 45, that doesn't mean anything. I have a great trainer who's taken me to the next level, and I think he's done wonders for me. As you get older, you just have to work a little harder, and that's what he's done for me. That shows if you are physically fit, you can play as long as you want to play."

Westwood, who appears to be major material, will testify to that. He was in the front row of contenders at the U.S. Open, too. "I'm 35 now," said the Brit, who waited until he was 34 before he looked at himself in the mirror. "And I probably started 10 years too late. I should have taken the warning from Ernie [Els]. He said he wished he would have started before he was 30."

Appleby, slim and trim, had to come back from nowhere, but in a different fashion than Westwood. The Aussie went out in 40 Thursday.

Westwood shot a closing 69 to finish T-2. Photo: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

By virtue of his 66 Sunday, Peter Lonard secured a T-6 with Darren Clarke, one back of Mickelson and Goosen, whose 66 led after 18 holes. Lonard regaled listeners with tales of his recent trip to Egypt, where he was amazed by the pyramids but declined the offer of a camel ride. His tour guide repeatedly quizzed Lonard on the significance of what he was viewing. She mistook him for a student of history instead of a pro golfer. And he thought he went there on vacation.

Another focal point last week was Kenny Perry, the Kentuckian who will be on Paul Azinger's U.S. Ryder Cup team. Perry, in case you've been away, missed the U.S. and British Opens and he is still being scolded. "To me, that's more of a compliment than a criticism," he said. "In 22 years nobody has ever cared where I played golf. That's the truth. Now, all of a sudden, I'm the bad guy over there [Europe]. It was kind of comical. I was chuckling over it. I was like, 'Wow, this is pretty cool.' I love stuff like that. I love when people tell me I can't do something, because I'm going to prove you wrong. People told me I'd never make the tour, I proved those people wrong. They said I'd never win out here, never amount to much. I'm kind of a low-key easy-going guy, and I kind of need stuff like that. When I get something burning in my belly a little bit, it just kind of inspires me to work a little bit harder."