Phil Mickelson, Max Homa ‘get on a little heater’ to close third round at Fortinet Championship
NAPA, Calif. – Walking from the ninth tee to No. 10 at Silverado Resort & Spa’s North Course, Phil Mickelson wheeled toward fellow playing competitor Max Homa and said, “Let’s get on a little heater on the back.”
To that point, Homa had traded three birdies with two bogeys and Mickelson two birdies and a bogey as they both turned in pedestrian front-nine scores of 1-under 35. But the pep talk worked.
Mickelson strung together five birdies in a row after a sloppy bogey at No. 12 and Homa went one better with six birdies in all, including the final three holes. It added up to 67 for Mickelson and 65 for Homa as they charged up the leaderboard at the Fortinet Championship in the third round.
“Max, playing as well as he did shooting 6 under on the back, made my round feel not as great, but it was still fun,” Mickelson said.
Homa, who won the Genesis Invitational in February, enters the final round two strokes behind in a tie for third at 12-under 204 as has thrived playing the opening two rounds alongside World No. 1 Jon Rahm and Saturday with fan favorite Mickelson.
FORTINET: Leaderboard | Photos | Sunday tee times
“I won my first event playing with I think World No. 1 at the time Rory on Saturday. I won Riviera playing with World No. 1 at the time DJ. It just makes it fun. I believe in my game a lot more the last two, three years so it’s fun to go out there and play with arguably one of the best golfers of all time and arguably the best golfer in the last 30 years,” Homa said. “When you’re playing well with the crowds, you kind of feed off it, too. I don’t really get that many people watch just me, so it’s nice to have somebody help bring some people to the golf tournament.”
Of Mickelson, he added, “It’s always fun playing with a legend, you get to watch him just will that ball in the hole sometimes.”
Lefty was even for the day after blocking a 4-foot putt left of the hole. But it didn’t deter him. He capped his five-birdie stretch with a 24-foot birdie putt at No. 17.
“I just felt like I had been putting really well all week and I just needed to settle down and let one go in, not force it,” said Mickelson, who improved to 10-under 206 through 54 holes. “I needed to get a couple of fairways hit because so much easier from the fairways getting to these pins. I just rolled a couple in, so it was nice.”
Mickelson has been using a longer arm-lock model this week and has found it mostly to his liking. He ranks fifth through three rounds in Strokes Gained: Putting.
“It’s how I putted as a kid. Like I always had a lot of forward press and all it’s doing now is getting in the same position as a kid, but it’s getting to that same position every time,” explained Mickelson. “I’m not overpressing, I’m not underpressing, so my launch characteristics when I get on the Quintic system is very consistent and that’s what I’m looking for.”
Mickelson’s hot run on the back nine lifted him into the top 10 (T-9) heading into the final round and lurking just four strokes behind leaders Maverick McNealy and Jim Knous.
“I’m in a position where a good round tomorrow will do some good, and it’s fun to have a little later tee time and to feel some of the nerves and so forth,” Mickelson said. “I know I’m going to have to shoot probably 7, 8, 9 under par to have a chance, but either way it’s fun having that chance.”
Earlier in the day, Webb Simpson made a move to get into the trophy hunt, shooting 7-under 65 before the leaders had even teed off and is tied with Mickelson at 10 under.
“I think if I’m within five, there’s a chance,” Simpson said. “This is a golf course, as you guys know, where you can shoot 10, 11 under. There’s that many scoring clubs in your hand. But we’re supposed to have wind tomorrow, so this course is fun to play because it’s the right kind of challenging. They’re giving you birdie opportunities, but it’s hard to make birdies.”
