It might be hard to image for all of you who play frequently on one of the many Tucson golf courses, but yes - they did have frost in Arizona during the 2011 Waste Management Open. It seemed to me like the frost did affect the clubs in the last two rounds of this year’s tournament.  However, it didn’t seem to affect Mark Wilson’s play, who won for the second time in three starts on the 2nd playoff against Jason Duffner.

But let’s take a closer look at Phil Mickelson’s play: Phil’s opening round of 67 was pretty good - and even though his opening and finishing holes were bogeys, he still had a score at -4 which put him in contention to start.  Then round two, SO much better – 7 birdies and 1 bogey – and a nice and shiny 65.  And did the 100,000 plus fans love that 32 foot putt on the 16th – oh, yeah!!  Things were looking up in Phil’s old stomping grounds in Arizona.  However it was already Saturday with two rounds to go.

The third round on Sunday was a barely break-even round for Phil, making only 1 birdie and a follow-up bogey on the front nine.  Then another give & take on 14 and 15 was followed with a promising birdie on 16.  And then the 17th hole came up:  A double bogey from within the 3 foot range just kind of knocked the wind out of him and he wound up with a 71 for round three.

The front nine in the final round came and went so fast with nothing but a birdie on the par-5 3rd hole. Then after a birdie on 10, a bogey on 12 and another birdie on 15, pretty much about 20 something other guys had passed Phil by.  And to make matters worse a bogey-bogey finish on 17 and 18 just was the final dagger in the heart and suddenly it was a 29th place finish.

But as they say, its already Monday and time to get on the road to Pebble Beach, one of Phil’s favorite places. Let’s hope the frost thaws out on those clubs and lets him bring home some crystal for Amy’s mantle!