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HP BYRON NELSON CHAMPIONSHIP


May 17, 2012


Phil Mickelson


IRVING, TEXAS

Q.  Phil, you mentioned turning 65s and 66s into 70s, the last few weeks.  Are you gassed with the induction ceremony in between?
PHIL MICKELSON:  It's not that I am tired.  I have not been able to get the score that I feel I should be getting.
I'm frustrated that I'm letting shots slide here or there and not capitalizing on some birdie opportunities.  The course is in great shape.  We had a perfect day.  There was no wind.  You couldn't ask for a better day.
There are some low scores out there and plenty of birdies.  I didn't take advantage of it.  I had countless opportunities to roll some in and didn't take advantage of them.

Q.  Phil, in the final 3‑hole stretch, I could see you kicking yourself later for the opportunities you did have.
PHIL MICKELSON:  Three‑hole putting there for par frustrated me, because it could have got me to a couple under, it could have been right there and maybe get one coming in, and that was a disappointing par to walk away from.
Not only was I not making the putts I needed to make, but I ended up three‑putting, and I'm frustrated because I know I can get a better score out there.

Q.  You mentioned the conditions being ripe for the taking.
PHIL MICKELSON:  It's a beautiful day, it's warm, not too hot, the greens are in great shape, they're receptive, you can get the ball stopped, really good opportunity to take advantage of the course, and I just didn't.

Q.  The scores aren't terribly low.  You said the birdies are out there but it's a hard course, isn't it?
PHIL MICKELSON:  Yeah, it's a challenging course but‑‑ it's hard to get the shots 5 to 6‑feet from the hole, but it's easy to get them 15 to 20‑feet from the hole, and I had a number of those putts that I struggled getting in the hole.  And tomorrow I don't see myself hitting my iron shots any better, but I need to capitalize on the opportunities that I give myself.

Q.  You got to figure that the wind is going to blow around here this weekend.  It's not calm very often.
PHIL MICKELSON:  Yeah, it should blow and it's hard to run away on this golf course because it is challenging, but a day like today you have to take advantage of the opportunities.

Q.  Phil, you went to the Rangers game, big story around here, what did you think of the pitcher for the Rangers, Darvish?
PHIL MICKELSON:  I had a good view of it, and the differences in speeds from 95 to 68 to 75 to 88; it was all over the map.  He had just great control, you could tell he's a special talent.

Q.  Going back out there today?
PHIL MICKELSON:  Trying to, yeah.

Q.  (Away from mic.)
PHIL MICKELSON:  It wasn't‑‑ I didn't think it was Josh's; it was somebody else.  It hit the net, though.  We had a big net protecting us.

Q.  Phil, you had a firsthand view of Todd Demsey's potential in college.  When you see that he's out here pursuing his dream after all he's been through, what goes through your mind?
PHIL MICKELSON:  He has a lot of game.  Unfortunately he has had back issues that have prohibited him from working on his game and playing as much as he would like.  It's put him on the sideline for quite some time.
He is a really, really good ball striker and has always had a lot of talent, been a tough competitor, and he and I have had great matches over the years.  I have actually always expected and still expect to see him succeed.
THE MODERATOR:  Phil, thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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