Phil Mickelson started off his round late in the afternoon at the U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club and after coming in second place five different times in his career, he has the lead on Sunday in the final round and is battling with Charl Schwartzel and Hunter Mahan for the win for his first career Open major.
Mickelson has played well since the start and could be the first wire to wire winner at the tournament in a few years and he has the chance to do it on his birthday and on father's day, which would make his trip to see his daughter graduate even more special. Mickelson started off well on Sunday again with a birdie and pulled back to the lead after Schwartzel bogeyed a hole and now he has the lead as he moves through the early parts of his round. Mickelson has won a major four times and he has come oh so close at the US Open, losing by a combined nine strokes during those five runner-up finishes.
Mickelson was the only player under par for a time on the difficult Merion course and he was atop a crowded leaderboard in the top five with names like Schwartzel, Steve Stricker and Justin Rose at the top, as well as Luke Donald. Tiger Woods finished off a disappointing weekend and dealt with tough weather and some rough play after coming in as the favorite and the presence of girlfriend Lindsey Vonn did him no favors on the course as he faltered and fell down the leaderboard. Woods has won four times on tour this year more than any other golfer and he was looking great heading into the tournament apart from his play at the Memorial and now his major drought continues.
The last time he won was in 2008 on Monday in a playoff at the US Open and now he continues to try and get his next championship. Woods had problems off the tee and Merion has proven to be as difficult as was written before the start of the tournament and although Woods did not play his best, he is back in the number one ranking in the world and he will still be considered the favorite for the two other majors this year. He won at the Farmers Insurance Open as well as the WGC Cadillac Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational before taking the Players Championship and now he will have to figure out how to recover heading into the second half of the PGA season. The win for Mickelson would be a huge boost and would give him his second win on tour this season and the major championship would help erase some of the heartbreak he felt all those years after coming in second.
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At the business end of the tournament, several mouth-watering storylines were bubbling, among them whether Mickelson could finally celebrate his first U.S. Open win on his 43rd birthday and on Father's Day with his dad watching him play. Three-times champion Woods, however, was heading for one of his worst ever finishes to the year's second major after covering his first 10 holes in three over.
Fellow American Steve Stricker, joint second at even with compatriot Hunter Mahan and South African Charl Schwartzel, is bidding for his first major title. At 46, Stricker is also aiming to become the oldest U.S. Open champion.
"A win would be unbelievable," said Stricker, who returned a 70 in the third round. "But I'm out not trying to think about that yet. I'm just trying to execute the shots that I know how to do and take one shot at a time and go from there." Stefani jumped up and down in delight before being embraced by his caddie and sharing high-fives with his playing partner Kyle Stanley.
"I was just super-excited because it's the first hole in one I've ever had in a tournament," said Stefani, who kissed the left rough in thanks after retrieving his ball from the hole. I was really surprised to see the ball kick to the right. Once it did kick, it kept rolling and I was like, 'Well this could be good'. And the fans stood up and then it kept getting closer and closer and then it went in."
