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FRY'S ELECTRONICS OPEN

October 19, 2007

Phil Mickelson

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA

Q. Course playing differently?
PHIL MICKELSON: The grass receives balls differently, it's a much more challenging golf course now.

Q. Was it rough as much as anything being away for a few weeks?
PHIL MICKELSON: Maybe, but I didn't think I played that poorly. I just scored terribly. Every time I made a birdie, I followed it with a bogey and never had anything going, never had the momentum going. Today I felt like I hit a lot of good shots with the one exception off and on 7, the drive that was a yard off the grass that I ended up making triple.

Q. You spent some time with Jamie Lovemark last week. Some thoughts on a young man that's have very talented?
PHIL MICKELSON: Well, I'm a fan of Jamie Lovemark's game, person, he's a fun guy to be around and he's got a lot of talent. When we've played together, he's just very impressive in every element of his game, whether it's off the tee, how long and straight he drives it, and the way he can shape shots with his irons, short game is great. I think he's going to have an incredible career out here.

Q. A lot of people clamor for that next great young American, and a lot of people figure it might be him. Are you in agreement with that?
PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, I think he's certainly there and I think there's a couple other guys, too, that can give young American golf a great boost. We had a great Walker Cup team this year, a lot of good talent on that team. I think American golf right now is getting some good, solid young players.

Q. He speaks highly of you and says he enjoys his time with you. What is it that you see about him that makes it stand out?
PHIL MICKELSON: He's just a fun guy to be around, and he's very easygoing. He has a lot of talent and he's a pleasure to play with.

Q. You knew coming in today, it was going to be not a lot of room for error; can you elaborate a little bit more?
PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, I was playing well, hit a lot of good shots. Got off to a great start birdieing the first hole, almost birdied my second and birdied the third. Had a good little momentum, but when I got a little momentum, I followed it with a poor shot on 13, my fourth hole and made bogey; and came back and birdied one at the turn and bogeyed two with a sand wedge. Birdied 3 and 4, and followed it up with a triple on 7 and just never had the momentum going. But I didn't feel like my game was that far off, but I just couldn't get anything going.

Q. Now it's just a waiting game this afternoon for the most part?
PHIL MICKELSON: Well, 1-over won't make it, no. It's between even and 1-under. I thought even had a reasonable chance. I was trying to get those birdies coming in the last two holes and see if I could get in there, but just fell short.

Q. You talked about the greens and the graininess and how different from when you grew up playing here. Talk about the greens and the graininess.
PHIL MICKELSON: Well, I like the change, because they putt more consistently. They withstand the heat much better, and as well as all of the play that the golf course receives. So I think in the long run, it's a great mix.
The challenge of it is they are not as soft and not as receptive, so chipping is very difficult because the first bounce. The momentum doesn't get stopped or taken off; it just keeps going and that's the challenge. And getting shots close to the hole can be difficult because it's harder to stop it.
I think overall, I like the way it plays. I thought it was terrific. They putt wonderfully and track great. I had a lot of putts catch the lip that I just missed a couple inches here or there.
I'm looking forward to -- if the tournament comes back here next year, I'd love to have another shot at it because I felt like I might play well this week, and it just wasn't there.

Q. A lot of the guys mentioned the wind out there and they were not really used to it and were surprised by it. What was that like today?
PHIL MICKELSON: No, there's usually a little breeze. But it doesn't really affect the ball that much because the air is a little thinner.
Yesterday it certainly had more breeze than it did today. Today I thought it was perfect scoring conditions, and we just didn't take advantage of it.

Q. Is missing the cut here more frustrating than anywhere else, or is missing a cut missing a cut?
PHIL MICKELSON: Missing a cut is just missing the cut. It's just frustrating every way you look at it, whether it's a major, whether it's a TOUR event or your home course like Grayhawk, it's always frustrating.

End of FastScripts

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