Phil Mickelson Goes Low With A Sunday 65 To Post The Clubhouse Lead At The Masters

What a fucking day for Phil. Did not expect that from him this week whatsoever, and I don't think I'm alone on that. I fully expected Phil to labor around the course, flirt with the cut, and simply hope to make the weekend. I had figured Kiawah was his last hurrah and that he was ready to take the bag from LIV and ride into the sunset so to speak. Or at least as it related to competing and contending at golf's major championships. Yet...  Phil came into this week talking about how he was on the verge of going on a tear.

I laughed.

I was wrong. 

Phil balled out today and proved yet again that Augusta National is a track where experience and know-how shine through. As Rahm and Koepka have more or less flailed over the past round plus and allowed the field back in the picture, it seemed inevitable somebody would make a run and make things interesting. It sure looked like his playing partner Jordan Spieth for a bit, as Spieth birdied 17 to get to -8. But he hooked his tee shot on 18 into the trees (much like he did when he went on a heater in 2018 to try to catch Patrick Reed) and failed to scramble and make his par. Meanwhile Phil was in the fairway and played his approach perfectly into the valley where the iconic Sunday 18th pin is cut. He knew the shot, he knew the line on the putt, and he fucking buried it.

As I write this, it feels like Rahm is in pretty good control to get his 2-shot lead to the clubhouse and keep Phil from getting his 4th green jacket. But you never know. Weirder things have happened on the second nine at The Masters.