Notes and Quotes from the Memorial:
Mickelson still looking for that one good round – the Memorial Tournament
DUBLIN, Ohio – “Well, I need a good one tomorrow,” Phil Mickelson was saying.Of late, you could plug the name of most any tournament in on that quote, the way he’s been spinning his wheels. This time it’s the Memorial Tournament, and the 2-under-par 70 he shot on Muirfield Village got him to a 142 total, seven shots off Steve Stricker’s lead.
Seven shots isn’t anything Mickelson can’t make up in a pretty big hurry, but nothing in his recent past suggests he can work up enough steam to do so. He’s won the Shell Houston Open this year, but hasn’t been bringing them to their feet otherwise.
“I had a chance to shoot something in the 60s and move up the leaderboard, and didn’t capitalize on a lot of opportunities,” Mickelson said. “But there’s some good chances out there, and if I can get a good round tomorrow, I hopefully will get in the mix for Sunday.”
-- THE BIG DROP: Chris DiMarco, who showed such promise with that opening 67, soared to a 77 (including a back-nine 41) for a 144 total, making the cut by one. This is his 253rd event since his last victory, in 2002,
-- THE UNKIND CUT: The cut came in at 1-over 145, taking away defending champion Justin Rose, early season rookie sensation Jhonattan Vegas, Sean O’Hair, Martin Laird and Jim Furyk, among others. Prominent cut-makers: World No. 1 Luke Donald, 69-139; Dustin Johnson, 73-141; Rickie Fowler, 73-141; Phil Mickelson, 70-142; and former Masters and U.S. Open champ Angel Cabrera, 73-143.
-- STRICKER STREAKIING: Steve Stricker extended his made cuts streak to 33 this week. The total for Stricker’s front nine (his final nine) was 6-under-par 30, one off the front-nine record of 29 held by John Huston (1996) and Mark Wilson (2007).
-- NO. 1 IS TOP 10: Luke Donald, who has seven top-10s in eight starts this year, opened 70-69 and is tied for sixth through 36 holes. Donald also extended his tour-best streak of par-or-better rounds to 23.
-- SMALL REUNION: With defending champion Justin Rose missing the cut, that left just three of the eight past Memorial champions to play the weekend -- K.J. Choi (tied for 40th), Ernie Els (T49th) and Vijay Singh (T62). Other champs -- Kenny Perry, Jim Furyk, Fred Couples and Carl Pettersson all missed the cut. It was Furyk’s first miss in 16 starts.
-- WITHOUT A BLEMISH: Jonathan Byrd, Rod Pampling, and Jhonattan Vegas turned in no-bogey rounds Friday. It didn’t help Vegas. His 68 wasn’t enough to overcome his opening 79, and he missed the cut.
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