Odyssey Staff Professional Phil Mickelson
put the finishing touches on the most dominating performance of his career yesterday at the TPC Sugarloaf in Atlanta, shooting a final-round 65 for a tournament record and personal-best total of 28-under-par 260 for a stunning 13-stroke victory in the Bell South Classic.
Mickelson's magnificent performance was a powerful statement on his game's readiness for this week's 70th playing of the Masters : his total of 260 tied the PGA Tour record for 72 holes on a par 72 course, set by John Huston at the 1998 Hawaiian Open; he hit a career-best 64 greens; he hit 80 percent of the fairways, 21 percent better than his season average.
To solve the treacherous greens, Mickelson used his Odyssey White Hot XG Putter
with breakthrough multi-layer insert composition. He finished sixth in putts per round with 28, and third in putts per green in regulation at 1.594. "I am really rolling the ball exactly the way I want to with the White Hot XG Putter," Mickelson said. "In the past, I had been skeptical of whether insert technology was for me, but with the consistency of feedback and the true roll I am getting, the White Hot XG is definitely in the rotation."
He led wire-to-wire, opening with a course record-tying 63 that featured 10 birdies and just one bogey. He record seven more birdies in the second round and move to weekend play at 16-unde r-par. Nine birdies in a 12-hole stretch on Saturday moved him to 21-under and gave him an insurmountable lead. Then in Sunday's final round he added five more birdies and a pair of eagles on the 13th and 18th holes to use as a springboard into Augusta National.
"I feel as though I'm getting really sharp, as far as distance control and many of the things I've been working on," he said. "These are going to be really crucial this week at Augusta."
