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U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 15, 2007

Phil Mickelson

OAKMONT, PENNSYLVANIA

Q. Did you want to make a general statement?

PHIL MICKELSON: General statement. I got off to a good start, 7, 8, 9, and 10 is a tough stretch and that did me in today. I played some pretty good shots, I was hitting No. 9 and 10 in regulation and I was 3-over so that hurt.

Q. Can you talk about your form at 10, what went on there? Just take us through that.
PHIL MICKELSON: Hit a good first putt, but it stayed up 5, 6 feet above the hole, and it's straight downhill so it rolled 8 feet by and missed that one.

Q. Phil, you took the drop out of the ditch on 7, there was no way to play that, I'm assuming, and 9 did you try to make that putt that rolled off the green?

PHIL MICKELSON: Trying to make that putt? I knew in the practice rounds it was tough to keep it on the green but if I get too cute with it I could easily have a 30-footer that I'm still trying to keep on the green, so I didn't try to hit it off the green but I had an uphill shot at it.

Q. Is the status of your wrist any different today.
PHIL MICKELSON: It's sore but it will be fine.

Q. To see Paul go out and shoot a 66 on the course today, how remarkable is a round like that considering the way the course is playing?

PHIL MICKELSON: That's a pretty good round. Out of four days and this many guys, somebody is going to get hot, just not for four days. He shot 77 the first day? So you go out and free-wheel it and get some putts to go, and next thing you know it's a good round. That can happen.

Q. How is the course playing?
PHIL MICKELSON: It's easier than I've seen it, the greens have slowed up and I don't know what we're doing. (Laughter.)

Q. Is that a tough pin on 10?

PHIL MICKELSON: It's tough to get 50 or 60 feet to that because it takes the tee away. There is no reason you can't make par there, if my putt goes 3-feet closer I would have probably made my next one.

Q. You birdied 6 and you go to 7, did you feel like you had it going and how much of a rally-kill was 7 when it unfolded?

PHIL MICKELSON: The double hurt but you're going to make that, that wasn't that big of a deal, I thought, 7, 8, 9, 10, that's the stretch if I play them 2-over it's not going to kill me but if I could par the next three I'd be all right but that stretch did me in.

Q. How far was the putt on 9?
PHIL MICKELSON: Probably 60 feet.

Q. What's your hunch about tomorrow?
PHIL MICKELSON: 11-over making the cut? I think that's -- there is no chance.

Q. 10-shot rule?
PHIL MICKELSON: Maybe. That would be pretty -- that would be pretty unbelievable if 11-over was the top half of the field, I can't buy that, I don't think so.

Q. When you finished yesterday with the pain and everything you had, eight straight pars and you finished and you came hear you seemed upbeat that you were going to play well today, are you deflated now after what happened?

PHIL MICKELSON: Well, I feel like -- I don't feel like I have a chance to win like I did. I felt I had made a great move early in the round if I just kind of made just a couple bogeys and didn't do too much damage but 7 through 10 did me in, 6-over in those four holes, take 6 shots out and I'm right there, at 5-over.

Q. Is the wrist affecting you?
PHIL MICKELSON: Look, it's fine, it's sore but it's fine.

Q. As well as you played in the Memorial, how difficult is all this to take?
PHIL MICKELSON: Difficult is what?

Q. The injury and not be being able to prepare the way you wanted to and not being able to practice the way you wanted to?

PHIL MICKELSON: Well, it's disappointing to dream as a kid about winning the U.S. Open and spend all this time getting ready for it and have the course setup, injury, you know? To think that the end of this tournament -- you're trying to win and hit great shots but you're also trying to not end your career on one shot, which -- or at least suspend it for a while. That's a little disappointing, yeah.

Q. The U.S. Open, as big as it is, is it disappointing the way they decide to go, the way they went the last few years?
PHIL MICKELSON: That's not for me to say. I know they're doing the best they can, they are. They're doing the best they can -- they're doing all they can.

Q. What you said about you can't imagine 11-over making the cut and since you don't think you have a chance to win anymore, are you hoping you missed the cut so you can rest that thing for two more days?

PHIL MICKELSON: I haven't thought about it. If I'm fortunate enough to make the cut, which would be, again, unbelievable, I'm going to come out tomorrow and try to put together a heck of a round because Loren Roberts almost won this thing, either right on the number or 1 better, so it can be done, he's done it and done it on this golf course so if I have a chance to play two more rounds I'm going to come out tomorrow and see if I can get off to a great start like I did today, couple under, you never know. It could be double digits over par that could win, even though we'll have guys 2-over, there is a 78 or 80 in there, too.

Q. Have you planned out how much time you're going to take off after this?
PHIL MICKELSON: I haven't, no, I'll look at it again. It's holding up, so it's not getting too much worse so that's a good thing.

Q. Guess on how many times you hit the hybrid?
PHIL MICKELSON: I didn't carry a driver today so I hit hybrid or 3-wood off just about every tee, hit a couple of irons.

Q. What is that based on, the type of shots you had?
PHIL MICKELSON: Don't putt with it on.

Q. What will you do for the next couple hours?
PHIL MICKELSON: Go watch the carnage on TV.

Q. Will you be rooting for carnage?
PHIL MICKELSON: I don't have to root for it, it's going to happen.

Q. Would you reevaluate your preparation for the majors?

PHIL MICKELSON: Absolutely, I'm going to have to change things. This really was dangerous doing what I did because the rough was twice as long and I thought that they may play it like that, and certainly with this liquid fertilizer and these new machines that make the grass suck straight up it absolutely is dangerous.
The first practice round on Monday, Jim Weathers had 6 other appointments, people hurting their ribs, their back, their wrists, it's dangerous, it really is. You've got 5 or 6-inch rough and you can only get a wedge in there, what good is it to practice?

Q. You're going to have to hit a high-lot of, club, right?

PHIL MICKELSON: I wasn't out there practicing out of the rough from the fairway, I was practicing around the greens so those are shots everybody is going to have.

End of FastScripts

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