Jon Rahm might've earned the win at Sunday's Memorial Tournament, but Muirfield Village defeated most of the field by day’s end. Golfers played a firm and fast golf course that got only firmer and faster in the 90-plus degree heat in Dublin, Ohio. The final-round scoring average (75.959) was the highest of any non-major round in four years. Oh, and if you haven’t heard, Muirfield Village is being torn down as part of a restoration project. So Jack Nicklaus was able to push the setup more than usual, knowing the club didn't have to worry about the membership being up in arms about a dead golf course come Monday.
We state all this as a preface for the strange play you might've seen over the weekend. And if you don’t believe us, consider how Phil Mickelson approached the 460-yard par-4 13th hole on Sunday. After hitting a 364-yard drive into the fairway (not bad for a 50-year-old!), Mickelson, who was five over on his round and eight over for the tournament, had 78 yards left to a tucked left hole location. Usually a master with his wedges, Lefty had another thought in mind on how to play the second shot when he asked his caddie/brother, Tim, for a club to handle the approach.
Mind handing me my putter?
We’ll let you watch what happened next.
Yes, it didn’t finish up the way Phil intended, although he did make a par, which was a good score on nearly every hole on Sunday.
Mickelson made one more bogey coming in, eventually finishing the day with a six-over 78. Here's what he said when he was asked about his strategy on the 13th:
“So the reason I tried to putt was the fairway prior to the green was pitched more severely right to left, and if I used that slope it was going to angle and get the ball working over to the left pin and possibly get close, whereas if I hit a wedge shot and flew it on to the front edge or just short, it wasn’t using that extra pitch or contour to get the ball over to the left. I would have had to settle for a good shot being 12 or 15 right of the hole. I didn’t hit it hard enough, but if I had hit that hard enough or the right speed, I think that ball could have gotten close to the hole to a tap-in, whereas a wedge I didn’t see that being possible.”
We’ll give Phil an A for effort and for creativity and a C- to execution on the putt.
The best of Golf Digest delivered daily
Sign UpWill be used in accordance with our PRIVACY POLICY