Phil Mickelson got off to an amazing start at the Phoenix Open on Thursday, nearly making a historic putt to finish with the lowest round in course history.
Mickelson barely missed the putt and settled for an 11-under 60 to start the tournament. Mickelson will tee off in the afternoon session with Rickie Fowler and Jason Dufner. Television coverage will be on the Golf Channel and the weekend broadcast will pick up on NBC.
Mickelson takes in a four-shot lead over a group of five players, including Brandt Snedeker and Padraig Harrington. He birdied 10 out of his first 13 holes of the day and had the chance to possible break the Tour record before hitting par on a handful of holes.
Lefty had gotten off to a slow start this PGA season, but he looks to be the man to beat at Phoenix, which is literally right in his backyard.
HERE is a link to the SiriusXM Radio Coverage. The Golf Channel also has coverage of the tournament online HERE. The PGA Tour also offers a live stream which can be found HERE. Here is a list of tee times and scores.
Mickelson had a chance at history on Thursday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, but came up one shot short.
Mickelson lined up a birdie putt on the final hole of his round with a chance at registering a score of 59, something only a handful of golfers have ever done. The left-handed golfer hit a 25-foot putt that appeared to be going into the hole, but in a cruel twist of fate, it ringed around the entire hole and rolled away.
Mickelson was walking towards the hole ready to celebrate and was pointing his putter towards the cup when it flipped out. His caddie Jim Mackay reacted by collapsing to his knees on the green.
"Six feet to go, it was in the center," Mickelson said to the Associated Press. "Three feet to go, it was in the center. A foot to go, it was in the center, and even as it's approaching the hole, I couldn't envision which side of the hole it could possibly miss on, and it ended up somehow just dying off at the end, catching the lip."
Mickelson finished with an 11-under-par 60 and finished one shot away from joining Al Geiberger, Chip Beck, David Duval, Paul Goydos and Stuart Appleby as the only golfers ever to shoot 59.
According to the Associated Press, "Five players have shot 59 in official PGA Tour events. Al Geiberger did it in the 1977 Memphis Classic, Chip Beck in the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational, David Duval in the 1999 Bob Hope Invitational, Paul Goydos in the 2010 John Deere Classic and Stuart Appleby in the 2010 Greenbrier Classic. Japan's Ryo Ishikawa had the lowest round on a major tour, shooting a 12-under 58 to win the 2010 Crowns on the Japan Tour."
Vijay Singh made some news at the tournament as well with his link to a Sports Illustrated report about athletes using banned substances. He was forced to pull out of the tournament due to a back injury.
