PGA Championship: Phil Mickelson wanted to break what he called his “thumbs-up” record but poor play sidetracked him
Mickelson shot a video prior to his third round talking about how he wanted to make six or seven birdies to give the fans 1,000 thumbs-up signs during his round. He carded nine bogeys instead.
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Phil Mickelson put out an odd video on Instagram prior to Saturday’s third round of the PGA Championship, talking about trying to break what he called his record for most “thumbs-up” during a round.
He thought he could do it with “six or seven birdies” and that he was “going for a thousand” thumbs-ups. But he wound up with nine bogeys instead, and shot a 76 that left him well back in the pack going into Sunday’s final 18.
“I just had an idea and hopped in the car and shot [the video] and then sent it and that was that,” Mickelson said. “It’s not really scripted. I’ve done them Saturday at the Masters and Saturday here, and I haven’t played great either day, so I’m going to try changing it up a little bit. But it’s fun. I just want to play better.”
With Mickelson out of it at Bethpage Black, the focus now turns to the U.S. Open, the only major that Mickelson hasn’t won. He would love to finish his career with the Grand Slam but time may be running out; he will celebrate his 49th birthday on U.S. Open Sunday this year.
“There’s not much I could do right now that would do anything to redefine my career, but there’s one thing I could do, and that would be to win a U.S. Open,” he said. “So if I were to do that, it would change the way I view my career because there are only, what, five guys that ever won all the majors? And you have to look at those guys differently.
“If I ever join that crowd, and the only way to do that is to win a U.S. Open, it would redefine my career.”