Phil Mickelson nearly missed his tee time at the BMW Championship because his hotel was struck by lightning and caught fire

Julio Cortez/AP

Phil Mickelson was evacuated from his hotel Sunday when the building got hit by lightning and caught fire.
He nearly missed his tee time at the BMW Championship, arriving with only 30 minutes to warm up.
He carded a -1 for a final day’s score of 71, making him -5 for the week. This meant he was tied in 48th place for the event.
"I played very horrible golf," Mickelson said of a five-month stretch this year. Adding: "I need a break."
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Phil Mickelson nearly missed his tee time at the BMW Championship on Sunday because the hotel he was staying in got hit by lightning and caught fire.

Mickelson was -4 after three days of play at Course 3 of the Medinah Country Club in Illinois when he went back to his hotel, near the golf course, and tried to rest ahead of the final day of the PGA Tour competition.

But Mickelson was roused from his room on the top floor early on Sunday when all hotel guests were evacuated because the building had been struck by lightning.

Mickelson even tweeted about the incident before he was due to play on Sunday, saying he may miss his tee time because his belongings — clubs included — were locked in the hotel.

Mickleson, along with the rest of the guests, were allowed to return to the hotel when it was reopened, which meant the American golfer was able to collect his belongings and get to the course on time — even though he was only able to warm up for 30 minutes.

"Kind of a funny deal," Mickelson said after carding a -1 score of 71 on Sunday, according to PGATour.com. "The building got struck by lightning right above me and blew out a brick chimney and caught fire a little bit.

"There were 10 fire trucks. I got in my car and left and couldn’t get back. The roads were closed and the hotel was closed. But things cleared up pretty quickly. I was able to get back in and get my stuff."

Mickelson finished -5 for the week, tied in 48th place. "It all worked out great – except my score."

Since winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am tournament in February, Mickelson has failed to reach a top 10 finish in the 16 tournaments he has since competed in.

He said the last five months has been the worst stretch of his career. "I played very horrible golf," adding: "I need a break."

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