Slip Sliding Away

Before his second- and third-round woes, Mickelson had a 71 Thursday. Photo: Stephen Szurlej

Last week's memories won't be as pleasant. "It was just one of those weeks when it didn't happen," Harmon said. "It was what it was."

At least there were no excuses. Never brought up was the trip Mickelson, suffering from dehydration brought on by a viral infection, made to a local hospital Monday where he required seven hours on an intravenous drip. Nor did he blame his poor performance on the pressure of playing on a course that played such a role in his development as a junior golfer. He just had a sloppy week.

"He has been waiting his whole life for this opportunity," said his manager and college coach Steve Loy Saturday. "Anything less than first wouldn't have been enough for him. He wasn't hitting it good yesterday, he was rough from start to finish, but we were hoping he could get through it and come back today with his game. You get behind out here you can't press. It's an Open course. One mistake leads to another."

None was more magnified than the lob wedge and two 64-degree wedges that rolled back to his feet on the 13th Saturday. Thinking he could make birdie and still be in the tournament, instead Mickelson stubbornly played himself out of it by trying to squeeze a shot to that dangerous front pin position. Hours later, Woods rolled through and made a thunderous 66-footer from the back of the green for an eagle. On this one hole—which Mickelson had publicly criticized early in the week for its new tee box—he had lost six shots to Woods.

But you never would have known it, based on his demeanor afterward. Mickelson was such a good-humor man that he even praised the difficult front pin, as he did USGA set-up man Mike Davis and the city of San Diego for supporting the event. "I feel like the Boston Celtics going from last year to this year," he said. "I thought last year was one of the toughest and this year is by far the best I've ever seen."

Some say Mickelson hasn't been right since the heartbreak of Winged Foot (a poorly timed replay was showing on the giant screen overlooking the driving range as he warmed up Thursday morning), that since working with Harmon, he hasn't made significant inroads into Tiger's domain. Mickelson's supporters say his new method is a work in progress. He has won four PGA Tour events since hooking up with Harmon, including the 2007 Players and a head-to-head duel with Woods at last year's Deutsche Bank Championship. What he hasn't done is contend at a major championship.

Mickelson shot 68 Sunday to finish T-18, seven shots out of the playoff. As Lefty finished, a day before his 38th birthday, Tiger was just heading to the first tee. Phil said he was retiring to his home to watch the finish.

"It's kind of my punishment," he said.