Lovelady tied atop Barbasol leaderboard with help of new mindset

OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Phil Mickelson, a staple of every Ryder Cup team since 1995, is still trying to force his way into Steve Stricker’s line up but confirmed he’d accept a vice-captains role should he fail to make the squad. Mickelson sits 19th on the U.S. team points list with the top six automatic picks confirmed following the BMW Championship this week. Stricker will then select six more members to round out the squad after the TOUR Championship. After an opening round 4-under 68 at Caves Valley Mickelson needs a huge final three rounds to make a surge into Stricker’s thinking and even qualify for the TOUR Championship. The veteran came in as the last man qualified at 70th in the FedExCup and needs to finish in the top 3 to advance. As his second-round tee time approached he sat eight shots off the lead. “The only way for me to have a realistic chance of being picked is to get into the TOUR Championship and then play well in the TOUR Championship,” Mickelson said. “I’m certainly a long shot I would say, but I’m starting to play well, and if I can put together three good rounds, you never know.” Of course Stricker can pick anyone he likes and may yet still decide Mickelson’s experience, and the fact he proved his winning prowess by becoming the oldest major champion ever at the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island in May, should be part of his squad. Mickelson was on winning teams in 1999, 2008 and 2016 but has lost nine times and holds a 18-22-7 record in 47 matches which is the record for most played and most losses. When asked directly about taking up a position amongst Stricker’s captaincy team that includes Davis Love III, Zach Johnson and Jim Furyk at this time, Mickelson admitted he’d consider it. “I love being a part of the Ryder Cup in any way, shape or form, so of course. But I’m not thinking about that right now,” he said.

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ERIN, Wis. – The house shared by Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas not far from Erin Hills was supposed to be the scene of someone’s breaking out party Sunday night… instead it served as the scene of post mortems. Heading to Sunday the U.S. Open was well and truly up for grabs with 16 players within six shots of the lead, none of whom had a major victory to their name. Of those, Fowler and Thomas were the ones most likely. Fowler had gone through enough near misses in majors to have learned from the experience with four previous top-5 finishes. He had since won THE PLAYERS in 2015. The 28-year-old had also claimed The Honda Classic earlier this season, knocking off the notion from some that he struggled to close although he opened the door to doubters again when he faded from one off the lead through 54 holes at the Masters in April to finish T11. Thomas had invigorated the tournament by terrorizing Erin Hills on Saturday for a record 9-under 63. He already had three wins on the PGA TOUR season and sat second in the FedExCup. Oh and the now 24-year-old joined the 59 club earlier in the year. Surely one of them would kick ahead. Starting two back, Fowler could only muster an even-par 72 to finish six shots back in a tie for fifth. Starting one back in the final group, the U.S. Open was effectively over for Thomas after just five holes and three bogeys. His 3-over 75 left him finishing in a tie for ninth. “I just didn’t have it today. Anytime you don’t win, it stings,â€� Thomas said. “It just sucks to not even have a chance on that back nine. To try to go out there and try to get in a top-5 or trying to get up near the lead is not what I play for, but, unfortunately, that’s really all I was dealt, so it’s what I had to try to do.â€� Fowler tried to take only positives away from the occasion. He only needs to look at his Zurich Classic partner Jason Day, who had nine top-10 finishes in majors before his win at the 2015 PGA Championship, to know he must forge ahead.
 “I feel like golf-wise I’m playing at the highest level. If you look at the negatives too much, you’re going to be stuck doing that the whole time,â€� he rationalized. 

“You have to measure success in different ways, not just by winning, just because that doesn’t happen a whole lot. I think Tiger had the best winning percentage of all time at 30%, and you’re lucky to even sniff close to 10.

“You kind of have to say, hey, it’s a major. We played well this week. I felt like I did a lot of good things, especially in the first round, executing my game plan. To finish in double digits, under par at a major championship, especially the U.S. Open, it was a good week.â€� Perhaps the writing was on the wall for Thomas from the opening tee shot as it sailed left into a hazard and it’s always tough to back up a super low score with another one. The three previous players to shoot 63 in an early round at a U.S. Open all struggled the next day. Jack Nicklaus shot 71 and Tom Weiskopf 75 after their opening 63s in the 1980 U.S. Open. Vijay Singh shot 72 in Round 3 after his second round 63 in 2003. (Johnny Miller shot 63 at Oakmont in 1973’s final round to win.) Only Nicklaus rebounded well enough to win. The gas tank on Thomas just didn’t fill up in time, despite having a long wait before his tee time. Too long he felt. “It was a lot of kind of laying around and just trying to stay off the phone and try to stay away from reading stuff just because there are so many things out there that are being said or written,â€� Thomas explained after he woke early Sunday ahead of his 2:54 p.m. tee time. “I just tried to stay away from it but it was hard to. I would like to think that’s not why I played how I did today.â€�
 The good news for the pair is perhaps this first-time majors thing is going to be a lasting trend. Going back to Day’s win at Whistling Straits, the last seven major winners have been first timers. Perhaps they will get their chance to continue the narrative at the Open Championship next month at Royal Birkdale. “I think it’s a great thing. It’s a lot of new blood, young guys. Kind of some of the younger crew is coming in,â€� Fowler said. “I’m not saying the older guys are out by any means, but I think we’re making our presence a little bit more known.â€�

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The Sanderson Farms Championship, in its first iteration as a full FedExCup event, gave us a 17-year-old in his pro debut (Akshay Bhatia), a veteran showing he might yet crawl out of a slump (Zach Johnson) and, ultimately, an exciting International shootout between a bevy of Presidents cup hopefuls. Ultimately, Sebastián Muñoz from Colombia nudged out PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Sungjae Im in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson. Welcome to the Monday Finish. Related: What’s in Muñoz’s bag? | The stats behind Muñoz’s first TOUR win THREE KEYS TO SUCCESS 1. A blistering 9-under 63 on Saturday was the catalyst to Muñoz having a chance at his first title. Having opened 70-67, it was Saturday’s nine-birdie effort that sent him surging into contention. 2. Recovery from missed fairways. Muñoz finished 42nd in driving accuracy after hitting 29 fairways, but he was 12th in greens hit (57 of 72). His iron play was good enough that he didn’t have to make a putt longer than 15 feet for any of his 21 birdies. 3. A little motivation and advice from a friend. After seeing Joaquin Niemann win the week before at A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier, Muñoz talked to his friend about closing the deal on the plane ride to Mississippi. “Him winning last week was the last piece of the puzzle that I needed to know that we’re good enough to compete, that we’re PGA TOUR members and we play to win,â€� Muñoz said. OBSERVATIONS The path to the PGA TOUR is clear cut for some. Some playera are born into golf families with unlimited access to facilities. Of course, they all work hard to get there – talent alone is never enough. But then there are the other stories, ones of players who had to overcome much steeper odds. Sebastián Muñoz never thought he’d make the PGA TOUR, let alone win. Do yourself a favor and read about his improbably journey here.  Ernie Els was probably a little concerned a month ago as he started thinking about the options for his four captain’s picks for December’s Presidents Cup at Australia’s Royal Melbourne. While there are plenty of eligible players he can choose from, including those with pedigree as impressive as Jason Day and Branden Grace, the play of those players had been a little questionable. Over the last two weeks, his smile must have grown, as more and more names are making a case to be selected. Joaquin Niemann and Sebastián Muñoz have both now won on the PGA TOUR. Sungjae Im continues to contend. Ben An has reemerged as a serious contender. The next few weeks are going to be huge for those trying to prove their worth. Read more about potential International team picks here. Akshay Bhatia may have missed the cut in his pro debut, but remember, he’s just 17. The youngster had a chance to make the weekend had he made birdie on his final hole – a pretty impressive feat in itself for the youngest-ever Walker Cup competitor. Ultimately, he missed out, but with starts over the next few weeks up his sleeve, it was a great learning experience. Should be fun to follow his on-course education. Read about Bhatia’s optimism moving forward here.  QUOTEBOARD “I never really thought I was going to be a PGA TOUR professional. I didn’t think I was that good.” – winner Sebastián Muñoz “I’m trying to treat each week as a phenomenal opportunity to get better.â€� – two-time major winner Zach Johnson, who had his first top-25 finish (T14) since April. “I haven’t played a skins format in quite some time, so it will be fun to try something a little different and add a few strategic elements as we compete. There has already been some friendly banter between us and that will continue until we get to the first tee.â€� – Tiger Woods after it was confirmed he will take on Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Hideki Matsuyama in a skins game in Japan.  SOCIAL SNAPSHOT

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