Phil Mickelson misses 3rd Masters cut as Bubba Watson ekes out a Saturday tee time

Phil Mickelson took a lot of heat for showing up for Friday’s second round of the Masters in battleship grey, but it was an ice-cold short game that had him packing his suitcase for home after two rounds.

Lefty, who had played inspired golf entering the tournament, appeared to be a lock for a Saturday tee time after carding an even-par 72 in Thursday’s opener. The 45-year-old, three-time Masters winner got it to 1-under through six on Friday, but it was not to be for Mickelson. He finished at 7-over — one shot south of the cut line — and missed just his third Masters weekend in 24 starts.

A double-bogey on the par-4 seventh on Friday was just the beginning of the end for Mickelson, whose scratchy putting on eight yielded a bogey.

The usually sure-handed putter set Nick Faldo’s head a-spinning with his flat stick work on nine.

“Oh, Phil. What are you doing,” the ESPN analyst exclaimed as Mickelson’s putt on the par-4 blew past the cup and rolled off the green. “That is gone. What on earth was he thinking?”

Despite a birdie on 17, two water balls and back-to-back doubles on 15 and 16 sealed Mickelson’s fate. A par on 18 was one shot too many and Phil had to settle for a seriously disappointing 79.

A tad more fortunate was another southpaw who did his darndest to miss his first-ever cut at Augusta. Thanks to 36-hole leader Jordan Spieth coming back to the pack in his second round (2-over 74), Bubba Watson still has the ghost of a chance to stay on the Arnold-Palmer-even-year plan for winning the Masters.

Palmer, Arnie’s Army will recall, earned a reputation for being an even-year Masters winner, with his victories coming in 1958, 1960, 1962, and 1964. Watson, with wins in 2012 and 2014, may yet get to emulate the ailing Palmer, as he made the cut on the 6-over number.

After flailing and whining his way Friday to a second consecutive 3-over 75, Watson seemed destined to pack up early. The nine-time PGA Tour winner, who’s no fan of playing in the rain, this week is railing at the blustery conditions that nearly derailed his efforts.

Try as he might to check out early — frequently shaking his head in frustration and reacting in disbelief as the wind knocked his shots off-target — Watson will be back for more fun on Saturday.

Other high-profile players were not quite so fortunate, as several big names struggled mightily with the elements and made early exits up Magnolia Lane.

Ernie Els’ six-putt horror show on the first hole on Thursday has, by now, become indelibly etched into Masters lore. After blaming the “heebie jeebies” (apparently the technical term for the yips) for his first-round putting meltdown, the holder of four major trophies had the world watching when he stepped up to a short par putt to kick off his second turn around Augusta.

Things did not go well.

Els recovered after that opening double-bogey 6 to play the remaining holes at 1-under for a second-round 73. Alas, the damage was done, and The Big Easy eased on out of Augusta at 9-over.

Eight-time major titleholder Tom Watson, playing his final competitive Masters, was only 2-over after 18, but he came undone on Friday, posting a 78. And 1991 Masters winner Ian Woosnam, fighting a bad back as well as the wind, also called it quits after going 82-81 and missing the cut by a wide margin.

Rickie Fowler will have to wait until June and the U.S. Open for another attempt at burnishing his “Big 4” resume with his first major triumph. He left himself way too much ground to make up when he started with an 80. Friday’s 73 was a good effort, but finishing at 9-over sent him on his way.

Here is a look at the leaderboard heading into the weekend: