Mickelson missed his chance, but plenty more to come

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Phil Mickelson shot a final-round 74 to finish in a tie for 17th at THE PLAYERS Championship.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- The pants?

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Final-round coverage

CLARK'S BIG STEP: Tim Clark's trek toward his first PGA TOUR victory began with a coach's prediction and a small tweak the week before. Column TIM'S TIME: For once, the golf gods were on Tim Clark's side, writes Mike McAllister. Column TIGER'S WD: The world's No. 1 bowed out early on Sunday with a neck injury. Story | Scene ALLENBY'S MISS: Robert Allenby's putt to tie Tim Clark came up painfully short on No. 17. Story COMING UP SHORT: Lee Westwood, by his own admission, didn't play well enough to win, therefore he didn't deserve to. Story MISSED OPPORTUNITY: Phil Mickelson had a chance to take over the top spot in the rankings. It won't be his last opportunity. Story

Tom Ford. THE Tom Ford. "A Single Man" Tom Ford.

A bit of glam to go with the purple shirt. Luxurious creamy gold with a herringbone pattern that popped.

Amazing clothes. Incredible designer.

"Amazing man,'' Phil Mickelson said with a grin. ''Did you see the movie?"

If he'd only had an amazing round to go with the clothes. But he didn't.

Before we go any further, we must make one point -- everyone else was focused on No. 1.

Yes, it was the storyline of the day -- especially after Tiger Woods withdrew with a neck injury. It was Phil's first chance to leapfrog Tiger -- all he had to do was win -- and take over the top spot.

Emphasis on first.

Greater emphasis on the fact it was everyone else's focus. Not his.

On this Mother's Day at THE PLAYERS, all Phil asked of himself was a chance. The Stadium Course at Sawgrass was set up just the way he wanted it; the way he needed it. Rock-hard greens. Firm, fast. A day when par was edging toward 75 most of the day and anything in the 60s meant you were gaining ground exponentially.

He was ready. His short game wasn't.

Phil closed with a 74. Basically even par for the final round. Good enough for a share of 17th.

Not good enough. On several levels.

"I gave a lot of shots away with my short game,'' he said. "My short game wasn't sharp this week, and it ended up costing me. It had to be flawless to get the ball up and down on these greens and around these greens and it was way short of that.''

Seriously short. In fact, the man whose short game set the standard couldn't make anything happen. But the man who is known for his adventures off the tee could, ironically, find fairways.

"I played from the fairway a lot of the time this week,'' he said with another grin. "Certainly more than I'm used to.''

Relaxed? Absolutely. He watched a little golf after he signed his card. He talked Tom Ford. He medium-fived Tim Clark when the winner was on his way to sign his card, and he was headed for the autograph line.

He talked about taking a couple of weeks off to be with the family. And work on his short game. About playing the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial and maybe -- emphasis again -- The Memorial in his run-up to the U.S. Open.

If you were thinking he might be kicking himself about not grabbing the top spot Sunday, think again. Any kicking he might have been doing -- we'd say it was more making a to-do list -- concerned the short game and the work he needs to put in between now and Pebble Beach.

Yes, he could have stepped into the No. 1 spot just like David Duval did when he won here in 1999. It would have been an interesting twist, but that's about all.

The bottom line is simple. Phil's on a roll and Tiger's season is up in the air. He's having an MRI next week to see if he has a bulging disk. Phil will be having fun with the gang.

And the door is open. Gulf of Mexico wide open.

If you'd told Phil he could win here and grab No. 1 or make a run at the elusive U.S. Open title, chances are he would have chosen the latter. Not that he didn't want to win, but he's got a PLAYERS. He doesn't have and Open -- just five silver runner-up medals.

And he needed magic here. The same magic he had at Augusta National last month and nearly had last week. And it just wasn't there.

Putts slid by. Approaches checked up or flew long. Or wide. Way too many ups, not enough downs. Bogeys at the second and third when he missed the greens. Another at six. Three over. A birdie -- finally -- at the seventh.

"The course was certainly challenging,'' he said. "I needed it to be difficult out there in order to have a chance. Unfortunately I didn't take advantage of it.''

No whining. No head down. Blunt. To the point. Honest.

"If you can make a couple birdies early on, and there's some early birdie holes I think, if I could have gotten a little more momentum for the round and maybe shot something in the 60s I could have made up some ground,'' he said. "The way it looks now, it wouldn't have been enough.''

A week ago, he threw out a closing 68 that would have been good most weeks. Not at Quail Hollow. Not when Rory McIlroy closed with a 62 to win by four shots.

But a win at Augusta and a second at Quail Hollow? That more than righted a season that didn't make a whole lot of sense; a year where -- coming into THE PLAYERS --- he seemed poised to grab another major and, just maybe the No. 1 spot.

That he didn't do it? Don't read more into that than a day when nothing went right.

He's relaxed. He knows his game is solid. He's got his to-do list in place. He's got it in perspective -- along with family, fashion and whatever sport you want to talk that isn't golf. He narrowed the gap between himself and Tiger to 1.311 points -- 10.979 for Tiger; 9.668 for Phil.

That said, he didn't flinch when asked if he felt he let a chance slip away.

"No. I'm playing well,'' he said.

He knows there will be more chances to grab the top spot. A lot more.

Starting at Colonial where, in case you're wondering, Phil has already won twice. And Tiger? Even if he makes a quick recovery, he hasn't played in Fort Worth in years.

So figure nothing's going to change at the top for at least a couple of weeks. And get ready to be dazzled a Colonial -- if not by a win or another one of Phil's under-a-branch-then-over-another-branch shots, then by another strong week and another pair of his incredible Tom Ford pants.