AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Phil Mickelson had an ordinary round going through eight holes in Friday's second round of the 2018 Masters Tournament.
It wasn't the six-birdie, three-bogey circus act he had going in the opening round. No, his second round was quiet. He made birdie at the par-5 second, which wasn't a surprise given it was playing as one of the easier holes at Augusta National on Friday. He followed that up with a bogey at No. 4, the monstrous 240-yard par-3. That was it through eight holes -- one birdie, one bogey, even-par for the round.
Boring, by Phil standards. Then came No. 9, which is when the circus came back to town. Here's a look at a very Phil-like five-hole stretch:
No. 9, par-4, 460 yards
Tee shot: A big fade into the pine trees up the left side.
Second shot: Here is where everything went sideways, literally and figuratively. With an opening to get the ball on the green -- or at least punch a long iron up near the green -- Mickelson hammered a line drive into a tree about 20 yards in front of him. It ricocheted into a bush, a spot so bad Mickelson couldn't play from there. He had to take an unplayable lie and return back to the exact spot from which he hit the tree.
Fourth shot (after taking a penalty stroke): This time he navigated his way through the pines, getting his approach to 50 yards from the green. That was what he hoped to do with his second shot.
Fifth shot: Hoping to escape with double-bogey, Mickelson took an aggressive approach. (Is that really a surprise?) His flop shot spun back to the front of the green, leaving a 37-footer for double-bogey.
Sixth shot: OK, time to lag it up and take your triple and move on, right? Nope. Mickelson was aggressive, again, and gave his double-bogey putt a run. It hit the edge of the hole, but still ran 5 feet by, leaving a tricky downhiller.
Seventh shot: Mickelson rolled in the slick 5-footer for his triple-bogey. He went from 2-under and two shots out of the lead to 1-over and five shots off the pace. The mess was complete.
No. 10, par-4, 495 yards
Tee shot: So, of course, his mind was racing after all those problems at No. 9, right? Nope. He shaped his tee shot perfectly down the hill at 10. The 322-yard tee shot left him just 160 yards to the hole.
Second shot: Mickelson hit a perfect second shot, leaving himself below the hole -- where you want and need to be on that green -- with a 10-footer for birdie.
Third shot: Mickelson rolled in the birdie, helping ease the pain of the triple at No. 9.
No. 11, par-4, 505 yards
Tee shot: Phil took his drive up the left side, an angle that brings the pond near the green into play with his approach.
Second shot: The hole location on No. 10 sitting dangerously close to the pond that guards the front left side of the green, Mickelson bailed out with his approach and hit it to the right side of the green.
Third shot: Play it low and run it up? Nope. Punch it to the edge of the green and let it trickle to the hole? That's not Phil Mickelson. Instead, he opened up the wedge and tried a flop shot. It didn't reach the green. After briefly steadying himself with the birdie at 10, trouble made a return at 11.
Fourth shot: After the failed flop shot, now what? Same flop shot, of course. With the pond just beyond the hole, Mickelson opened up the blade again and landed the ball just barely on the green, then watched it run down past the hole, leaving himself a 6-footer for bogey.
Fifth shot: Mickelson rolled in the 6-footer for bogey, dropping him back to 2-over.
No. 12, par-3, 155 yards
Tee shot: When things are spiraling, the last place in the world you want to stand is on the 12th tee at Augusta National. Mickelson ballooned his tee shot short and right. It ended up in Rae's Creek.
Third shot (after taking a penalty stroke): Most players find a spot in short grass, picking a comfortable yardage and dropping there. Mickelson wandered over to the first cut, right off the tightly mowed grass and dropped there. His pitch hit into the bank in front of the green. Instead of tumbling back into Rae's Creek again, it skipped forward to get onto the front edge.
Fourth shot: He gave his 27-footer from the front edge a good whack, but it missed.
Fifth shot: Mickelson put an end to the damage, tapping in for a double-bogey.
No. 13, par-5, 510 yards
Tee shot: Mickelson hammered a perfect drive around the corner at the par-5, leaving himself a good, clean look at going for the green in two. Perhaps after the problems at 9, 11 and 12, he would make up for it with an eagle.
Second shot: With just 176 left to the hole, Mickelson took dead aim. But his approach came up short and nearly went into the creek in front of the green.
Third shot: Fortunate the ball didn't end up in the hazard, Mickelson hit a perfect pitch shot. For a moment, he looked like he was going to have to scramble to save par. Instead, he had 6 feet for birdie. Nothing about this five-hole stretch has been simple.
Fourth shot: He missed the 6-footer.
Fifth shot: He tapped in for one of the stranger pars of the day. After the tee shot, he had to be thinking eagle. When the second shot appeared to end up in the creek, he had to be thinking par or bogey. When the ball was dry, he had to be thinking birdie. He had to still be thinking birdie after the chip. Then he missed the birdie put. An eventful par to end a wild five holes.
The final word ...
After the wild stretch, Mickelson settled down for a few holes and made three consecutive pars. But his struggles weren't over. Mickelson bogeyed the par-3 16th and par-4 18th to post a disappointing 79. He stood on the ninth tee very much in contention. He walked off the 18th green dangerously near the cut.