Lefty looking to go low after final-hole setback

A last hole nightmare on Saturday, with two shots finding a watery grave, left world number 11 Phil Mickelson with a mountain to climb in weekend play if he is to win the Barclays Singapore Open.

Mickelson put himself bang in contention with four birdies in five holes on the Serapong Course at Sentosa Golf Club when he resumed his second round on Saturday morning but a double bogey on the last shattered his ambitions.

In typically aggressive fashion, he took a driver off the fairway on the par-five 18th but it went left and ended in the water. Then vicious backspin on his wedge approach took the ball 90 foot off the green into the water.

Lefty, playing for the fifth straight year in “Asia’s Major”, lies 11 shots behind halfway leader Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano who shot a best of the week 61 on the Tanjong Course for a two round total of 15-under 127.

“I double bogeyed the last hole (hitting two balls into the water) but I played really well prior to that with birdies on 15, 16 and 17,” said Mickelson, who carded a 67.

“I did not have a bogey all day and tried to get aggressive on (par-five) 18 and took a risk and hit driver into the water. But that was not what was upsetting. I understand that I am taking some risk there. But I hit a wedge shot after I took a drop – it spun back ninety feet into the water and I do not understand that. That was a little frustrating.

“I had a chance to get right in the tournament with a birdie at the last – that double put me back quite a way so I am going to have to shoot a really low round to get into contention for Sunday.

“On the back nine, I hit a lot of good iron shots to about 15 feet and made those 15-footers on 13, 15, and 17 and had about a five-footer on 16. So I hit a lot of good iron shots and we will need to do that in the third round as well.

“The Serapong Course is in great shape. It is very challenging, hard to get the ball close to a lot of these tough pins. So I will have to make some 20 to 30 footers to get birdies.”