• Greenbrier Classic, Round Two

Third straight missed cut for Mickelson

Phil Mickelson was in high spirits, despite missing the cut at the Greenbrier Classic © Getty Images

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Phil Mickelson appears to be feeling the after-effects of his US Open heartbreak after missing the cut for the third straight year at the Greenbrier Classic.

The 43-year-old, who finished runner-up for the sixth time when losing to Justin Rose at Merion, finally broke par at The Old White TPC, but it was not enough to save him from a feat which had never happened to him before.

Mickelson, who was three strokes outside the cut when he finished, reached the halfway stage at two-over par after opening with a 74. But he started on the back nine Friday and had turned in 32 -- which put him at level for the tournament and with a chance of making the weekend.

But a missed six-footer to save par at the second hole, as well as similar putt at the sixth after he found the fairway bunker off the tee, effectively ended his chances.

Even so, Mickelson was pleased with his performance.

"I hit a lot of good shots and I think I've figured out why I've struggled here," he said. "It's my distance control with my irons I haven't figured out yet. We're a couple thousand feet, we've been practicing at sea level, so obviously it's going to go longer. It's the same altitude as Phoenix but it goes a different yardage and I haven't quite figured it out.

"I've posed over a lot of iron shots today and they end up not just a yard or two off from where I figure, but they're 10 or 12 yards off from where I figure. I think as I look back on these last three years, that's been the biggest issue for me is distance control with the irons."

At the top of the leaderboard, Matthew Every carded an eight-under 62 to lead by one at nine-under, while overnight leader Johnson Wagner is in a cluster of players one off the lead, including Steven Bowditch, Bill Lunde, Daniel Summerhays and Russell Henley.

Englishman Greg Owen heads a group on seven-under, which also features Tommy Gainey, Ben Curtis and Sweden's Jonas Blixt.

Elsewhere, John Daly withdrew with an elbow injury, then tweeted he would need surgery next week.

"Surgery on elbow next week out for 3-4 months #canthandlepainanymore," he wrote on the social networking site, having pulled out after just three holes of the second round.

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