After more than 20 years of covering everything from election campaigns to the Olympic Games, Robert Lusetich has turned his focus to writing about his first love — golf. He is the author of Unplayable: An Inside Account of Tiger's Most Tumultuous Season.
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Phil Mickelson says he’s resigned to playing boring golf. Tiger Woods wishes he could be so boring.
Golf’s swashbuckling left-hander toned down his legendary gamblers’ instincts on Saturday and the newfound conservatism left him tied for the lead going into the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open.
Woods, meanwhile, fell out of the race after fighting his swing all day.
The man who’d won his last five starts at Torrey Pines shot 74, only the second time — and first since 2002 — that he’s been over par in his PGA Tour career on what is his favorite track.
Mickelson, who shot a 4-under par 68 to get to 12 under for the tournament, tied with Bill Haas, explained that conservatism at Torrey Pines doesn’t come naturally.
“I love playing aggressive; I think people want to see birdies and they want to see bogeys. They want to see us attacking holes trying to get it close (but) this course just doesn’t reward you for taking any risk,” he said.
“Eight pars and a birdie on the back nine, it’s certainly not the way I want to play, but it’s just the way I’ve learned that you have to play this golf course.”
What Woods would’ve done for a 68.
“It was a struggle all day,” he later bemoaned.
He found himself in a no-man’s-land, caught between his old and new swings.
Or, more accurately, caught in the “stuck” position — where the club drops too far behind him in the downswing — that’s plagued him for years.
Golfweek: 5 things
Golfweek's Sean Martin identifies 5 things to look for in Sunday's final round at Torrey Pines. “It’s the same old motor patterns and they kind of kick in, especially when I have to (shape) shots. The hard part is kind of battling through that,” Woods said.
Woods is a natural optimist, so he maintained that he was not far away, that it was all, as he’s wont to say, part of the process, even as his body language said otherwise.
“I know what I can do. I know what I’m capable of hitting, the shots I’m capable of hitting, and I just need to keep improving and keep working,” he said.
But how long can he remain patient? This was, after all, the perfect chance to get off to a fast start and alter perceptions.
“Well, one time it took two years,” he said, “From the middle of ‘97 to May of ‘99, when I only won one tournament. It takes time.”
It has to be exasperating for Woods to play like this because he’d shown great improvement at the Ryder Cup and for three days at the Chevron World Challenge in December.
Exasperating, too, because his ball-striking at the range has been stellar, according to his new coach, Sean Foley.
He just can’t seem to consistently bring it to the course.
“It’s always easy to do it at home on the range,” Woods said.
“You have to do it out here, then once you do it out here, you have to do it in contention. Then once you do it in contention, you have to do it in major championships. And then you have to do it on the back nine of a major and be successful.
“So it’s a building process. I’ve been through it before.”
I asked him if he had a timetable, a point in time by which he wants his swing to be helping, rather than hindering, his chances for a first win since the end of 2009.
“Yeah,” he said, “Augusta.”
“Actually not just for that one week. I need it in June, I need it in July, and I need one in August.
“That is the whole idea. I’ve always tried to peak four times a year (for the majors). I’ve been successful at it 14 times in my career.”
Mickelson, meanwhile, doesn’t need to look so far ahead.
He hasn’t won at his hometown course since 2001, and has seriously contended only once — in 2004 — during the past decade.
“I’ve missed being in contention and having opportunities to win here,” Lefty said.
“It’s such a fun tournament for me to play well because of growing up here as a kid and looking from outside the ropes, inside, dreaming of playing the Tour.
“Lots of memories come back from when I was a kid.”
Jhonattan Vegas’ memories are fresher. The big-hitting, perpetually smiling Venezuelan rookie had his first win last week in Palm Springs at the Bob Hope and backed it up by putting himself back into contention here.
Vegas shot 69 — playing alongside Woods, who called him “a really nice kid” — and is three strokes adrift of the lead.
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