Phil Mickelson hits DRIVER OFF THE PINE on Champions Tour
Phil Mickelson explains why he opted with the driver off the deck which resulted in a birdie during the second round of the Charles Schwab at Ozarks National.
Phil Mickelson made an incredible start to his Champions Tour debut on Monday after he shot an 11-under par round and the golf icon extended his lead after day two, when he shot a 7-under par round to take his score to 17-under par and four strokes ahead.
After missing out on the next FedExCup play-off event, Mickelson - who turned 50 in June - decided to make his awaited debut on the Champions Tour where he is looking very comfortable so far.
During Tuesday's round, Mickelson's tee shot at the par-5 9th landed by a tree surrounded by pine straw. A loose wire was seen hanging from the tree and Mickelson called a rules official over to see if he could move his ball.
“I’m going to get hurt, potentially,” he told a rules official.
The rules official agreed with Mickelson and he was granted relief, but he still faced a tricky second shot that needed to be played under the low-hanging branches and up towards the green.
Needed to play a low cut, Mickelson had an iron in his hands but in true Lefty fashion, opted for something a little more inventive.
“Give me the driver,” Mickelson said.
“Give me the driver.” - @PhilMickelson pic.twitter.com/mGG5lZM5e6
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) August 25, 2020
The ball moved perfectly from right to left, but Mickelson couldn't quite cut it enough to get it onto the green, which left a delicate chip shot which he played beautifully to set up the birdie.
And he makes birdie! pic.twitter.com/QMzuN0yTjk
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) August 25, 2020
After his round, Mickelson explaiend why he chose to go with the driver and not an iron: “The fact is I had to hit a low cut, and it was much easier to hit a low cut with that club than it was a 2-iron. I had left-to-right wind, and I was going to have to play right of that post, and that wind was going to take it further right, and a 2-iron was going to be too hard for me to get it to cut back into that wind. A driver off the deck cuts almost automatically.”
