Phil Mickelson's 74-shot walk around TPC Twin Cities in Blaine began innocently enough on the back nine early Thursday morning.
He smacked a mighty left-handed iron shot that screamed down the 10th fairway and settled a football field away from the green. Three strokes later, Lefty had his par and by the time he got to the 15th tee box a pair of birdies bookended a nuisance bogey.
Turns out the annoyance was just beginning.
Mickelson made a mess of his round on the revamped par-5 18th hole.
First off the tee: Splash.
Then from a penalty drop area: Splash.
Then around the green: Snowman.
"You can't do that and compete," Mickelson said after taking an eight on the 18th and signing his card nine holes later at 3 over, good for a tie for 133rd in the 156-player field at the 3M Open. "It's frustrating because I felt like I was playing well, making some good swings. [Thursday] I made some terrible ones."