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DESERT CLASSIC


January 20, 2019


Phil Mickelson


La Quinta, California

Q. You go out today with a two-shot lead, you shoot 69, it's not good enough. You struck it beautifully, the putter just didn't seem to cooperate. How frustrating was that?
PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah I had a terrible putting day, one of the worst I can recall in a while. Started right on the first hole with a little 4-footer uphill and 3-putting that green there. And I missed a bunch of short ones on the front and some birdie opportunities, but it felt awful with the putter. I hit a lot of good shots today though but just couldn't get the ball to go in the hole.

Q. You said you had rust on your game, you hadn't done a lot at home, but yet here you were with a chance to win. How encouraged are you now going forward, especially with the rest of this West Coast Swing starting out?
PHIL MICKELSON: It's a weird game how sometimes if you haven't played for awhile it just can click and come right back. But usually you need a little bit of a foundation there coming down the stretch. When you get to feel the pressure you need to have that foundation of practice and seeing the shots that you want to hit, seeing the ball go in on the greens and so forth and I didn't really have that today. I played okay today, I didn't play poorly I just really struggled on the greens.

Q. I know it wasn't what you were expecting today but, man, you hit the greens today, but the putter just was cold.
PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, I hit a lot of greens today but I felt terrible on the greens today with the putter. It started right on the first hole with that 3-putt and missing a very easy 4-footer straight in for par. Missed a couple of really good birdie opportunities as well on 8 and 9 for par. So it was a tough day on the greens and yet I fought hard, stayed in it and had a chance all the way up to the last.

Q. Those last two holes, could you hit a better putt than you did on 17 and 18?
PHIL MICKELSON: You know we Tim and I both saw the putt at the last five feet on 17 straighten up and almost try to go back left and I had it right in the center and I was waiting for it to straighten and it just never did, it went across the hole. That was one I thought I had made, that was probably the best putt that I hit all day. The one on 18 had a chance too it was right on glide slope and just fell a little bit low. It was the short ones. It was the short ones that I really turned around these last few years and today I just struggled.

Q. Talk about the week.
PHIL MICKELSON: It's a great way to start the year and hopefully I'll build on it and try to get better from here.

Q. How impressed were you with how Adam Long held it together?
PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, he hit shot after shot and putted great, had a couple chip-ins and did what you had to do to win.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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