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Phil Mickelson plays a second shot on the 10th hole during the first round of the 2021 US Open at Torrey Pines GC on June 17, 2021 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw via Getty Images)
Phil Mickelson opened with an above-par 75 and then blamed Torrey Pines spectators for not turning off their cell phones.
Mickelson only managed one birdie against five bogeys and is eight strokes behind co-leaders Russell Henley and Louis Oosthuizen.
“It’s part of professional golf,” said Mickelson. “You have to learn to manage it. I don’t understand why you just can’t turn that little button on the side to silent.
“I probably didn’t handle this internally as well as I could or as well as I needed to. It’s part of the game here at this level. I certainly didn’t do the best job of dealing with it.
“It did it the next three or four hits too, so it’s not like it’s the first time, it’s just you have to ask three times.”
“Again, it’s part of the game. It’s part of professional golf. You’ve got to be able to let that go and not let it get to you and be able to calm yourself down and get your thoughts together and so forth, but they sure haven’t done me a favor either.
The 51-year-old, who won the PGA last month to become the oldest major champion, failed to get into the groove.
“I fought hard throughout the tour,” said Mickelson. “I wasn’t really doing anything, and I fought really hard, then letting two bogeys slide on 6 and 7 when I really shouldn’t have, like they weren’t that hard to compare – you have probably saw the disappointment there.
“Look, that’s part of this tournament, and I was able to go without any doubles, I just didn’t get enough birdies to make up for it. Like I said, I’m hitting enough fairways to give myself a chance, and I’m optimistic and hopeful of having a good run tomorrow.
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