Phil Mickelson confirms he'll compete in Match Play later this month

Phil Mickelson confirms he'll compete in Match Play later this month

Phil Mickelson couldn’t pull off the come-from-behind victory, but he still left the Monterey Peninsula in a positive frame of mind.

His tie for ninth was Mickelson’s second top-10 in his first three starts of the season. Small wonder, then, that the world No. 4, who has talked repeatedly about making 2011 the year he had hoped 2010 would be, was so enthused.

Mickelson will be playing in the Northern Trust Open next week. And he announced after finishing off a 71 Sunday that he was planning to compete in the World Golf Championship-Accenture Match Play Championship which had been a question mark since his children didn’t have school that week.

"I feel like I’m right on the cusp of playing some great golf because I feel like I’m driving the ball very well, better than I ever have probably," he said. "I feel like my iron play is back and my distance control has been sharp. And I feel like I’m rolling the ball very well. It’s on my line.

"It’s just not quite going in or maybe I hit just a little too much speed or not quite enough break or whatever it is. Feels like it’s so close, it feels really good and I’m walking away, even though I didn’t get out of today’s round what I wanted, with a lot of confidence, and looking forward to next week’s event."

Mickelson made five birdies on Sunday, but none after the 3-footer at the 11th hole that moved him to 10 under and within two strokes of the lead. He tied for 54th in fairways hit but shared first in greens in regulation, including 13 of 18 in the final round.

Once he got to those greens, though, Mickelson’s putter was a tad fickle. But he repeatedly burned the hole on Sunday as he took 29 putts and finished tied for first in the distance of putts made for the week. He ranked third in driving distance, as well.

"It was really a fun day," Mickelson said. "It was a beautiful day. We had great weather there. Was an opportunity out there to try to catch the lead and I put myself in position where I had some opportunities. It was a fun day. I didn’t quite get them to fall but I hit a lot of good putts and I had chances and they just didn’t quite go." – Helen Ross