AKRON, Ohio(AP) — Phil Mickelson is tied for 41st in the 83-player field midway through the Bridgestone Invitational. He's not sure he belongs that far off the lead.
Mickelson has not completed a tournament in the U.S. since winning The Players Championship in mid-May. He injured a wrist preparing for the U.S. Open at Oakmont and had to withdraw from the Memorial, then missed the cut in his only other PGA Tour starts, at the Open and the AT&T.
He did finish second in a playoff at the Scottish Open, but then missed the cut at the British Open two weeks ago.
Mickelson insisted he's not that far away from playing well.
"I played well at the Scottish Open. I played well at the British. I'm actually playing pretty well here," he said after rounds of 74 and 72 left him at 6-over 146 and 12 shots behind Sabbatini. "But we're at a U.S. Open-type venue here with the conditions being so tough."
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ROUGH, ROUGH: So this is why they call it rough.The gnarly, wiry, grabby rough at Firestone Country Club took another victim in Friday's second round of the Bridgestone Invitational.
Mike Weir, who had an opening 77, shot a 40 on the front side in the second round and then called it quits because of a neck injury.
He was walking up the 11th fairway when he called out to playing partners Joe Durant and John Rollins. Weir told them he was pulling out of the tournament, they all shook hands and then he made the long trek to the clubhouse.
"I hit a shot out of the rough on 4 and I felt something, and then on 9 I hit one out of the rough and I just felt it tighten right up. I thought there's no way I'm going to ruin this for next week," Weir said, referring to the PGA Championship next week at Southern Hills.
Weir had his neck worked on by a therapist and was told to rest, take anti-inflammatories and apply ice to it.
Weir said he would head home to Utah and try to recover. He plans on seeing his chiropractor while he's there.
Almost every player said missing a fairway was the same as taking at least a bogey.
