Mickelson: 'ridiculous' errors
After missing the cut at the Houston Open, Phil Mickelson is hoping that he has got all of the "ridiculous" errors out of his game ahead of next week's Masters.
Already with two wins to his name this season, Mickelson started the week as favourite to win in Texas, but instead did not make the weekend at Redstone Golf Club as weather-interrupted rounds of 77 and 76 left him well down the field.
However, the 38-year-old put a positive spin on his poor performance and remains confident that he can claim a third Green Jacket at Augusta next week.
"I obviously didn't want to shoot what I did," he stated.
"I made some ridiculous mistakes that you can't make, and it was great that I played because I didn't want to go into Augusta making those same mistakes, and some of the key shots that I hit like on five where I put two balls in the water... you can't do those things.
"Fortunately, those drives would have been fine at Augusta, but there's so much water here that it wasn't good.
"It was really good that I played here because I made some mistakes during the first two rounds that you just can't do competitively.
"Stuff like that I needed to get out of my system here."
Extra practice
Having missed out on two more rounds of competitive golf in Texas, Mickelson was instead forced to opt for extra practice with coach Butch Harmon.
But he still believes his game is in good enough shape to challenge when the season's first major rolls around.
"I've got to forget about the score," he added. "That wasn't close to what I was hoping for, but I'm looking forward to next week.
As for his chances at Augusta, he continued: "I expect to play a lot better than I did. I certainly am struggling on the greens, too. I can't see the break for whatever reason. They're immaculate. They roll perfect. I'm not able to make many putts on them.
"It doesn't feel like my game is far off. I'm not overly concerned with what the numbers showed. Butch is here, and we had some good work this morning. I hit a lot better iron shots today (Sunday), and I'm looking forward to next week.
"Next week is going to be a severe challenge. It's in an area where I love. The short game is good. Much wider corridors off the tee without the penalty of a hazard.
"It's tough, I think. There's been times where I've missed cuts the week before and won.
"I needed to play because I needed after two weeks off to get back out and trying to get more of a scoring.
"I made some ridiculous mistakes and I'm glad I saw it and did it now as opposed to next week."
