PGA Tour pro whiffs after his club slams into a rock wall

Phil Mickelson and Daniel Berger played one of the better matches you’ll see at this year’s WGC-Dell Match Play. It was not always well-played, but it was certainly eventful. The match started with Berger, the 22-year-old reigning Rookie of the Year, making the Hall of Famer Mickelson finish a 1-foot par putt instead of conceding it. That certainly got Phil’s attention and intensified things.

The match was back-and-forth all day from there but then ended abruptly on the 18th hole when Berger slammed his club into a rock wall and hurt his hand. The FSU alum hit a wild drive that ran up near one of the many rock walls that are set up throughout this Austin Country Club course, and tried to breeze a swing right past it to get his ball back in play. The result was a whiff, an injured hand and a picked-up ball of an All-Square match on the 18th hole.

Berger did meet up with Mickelson in the fairway and told him he “thought he was OK” but obviously was not going to try and make another swing. The concession means Mickelson is now 2-0, and he’ll play 2-0 Patrick Reed Friday for a winner-take-all match in their pool.

With no chance of winning the pool and his first Masters just two weeks away, Berger said he was unsure if he’ll even tee it up in the meaningless final Friday match.