2011 U.S. Open Leaderboard Update: Phil Mickelson Finishes Third Round In Disastrous Fashion

With 54 holes in the books, it is clear that Phil Mickelson will not end his U.S. Open struggles at the 2011 U.S. Open.

Mickelson shot a 6-over 77 on Saturday to fall from the ranks of implausible dark horse to the realm of the golfers just playing out the string. And Mickelson, who was at even par for the U.S. Open and 1-under for his third round after playing his front nine at Congressional Golf Club, has only a disastrous back nine to blame.

Mickelson’s back nine 42 — 7-over for that stretch — featured three bogeys, two double bogeys, and no red numbers. Mickelson played a three-hole stretch from the 15th to 17th in 5-over, and made two straight double bogeys on those latter two holes.

When leader Rory McIlroy made birdie on the ninth hole to move to 13-under for the U.S. Open, Mickelson, having just made those consecutive double bogeys, trailed the upstart by a whopping 20 strokes. Fortunately, McIlroy’s subsequent bogey reduced his advantage on Lefty to 19 strokes.

Don’t expect Mickelson to erase all of that on Sunday. And don’t expect him to add a sixth second place finish to his resume, either.

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