( CNN ) -- It 's not often that a golfer shoots an 11-under-par 60 but finishes his round with a tinge of disappointment . But that fate befell Phil Mickelson , who saw his perfectly struck 25-foot birdie putt curl around the cup but not drop on the par-four ninth at the TPC at Scottsdale in Arizona . It was his final hole of the first round of the Phoenix Open and had it gone down , the American superstar would have joined the elite club of five players who have broken 60 on the PGA Tour . `` To see that last putt lip out the way it did and not go in , it 's crushing because you do n't get that chance very often to shoot 59 , '' he told the official PGA Tour website . `` He could not have hit a better putt , '' said his long-time caddie Jim Mackay . `` Disappointing for everyone to not see that one go in on the last , '' said one of Mickelson 's playing partner 's Rickie Fowler . Mickelson , who achieved the same 11-under 60 score at the tournament in 2005 , joins fellow Masters winner Zach Johnson in being the only two PGA Tour players to shot 60 or better more than once in their careers . `` I was ecstatic ( in 2005 ) , and I 'm ecstatic to shoot 60 ( today ) , '' Mickelson said . `` But there 's a big difference between 60 and 59 . Not that big between 60 and 61 , there really is n't . But there 's a big barrier , a Berlin Wall barrier , between 59 and 60 . '' In another twist , fellow American Bo Van Pelt had shot a 59 in the pro-am Wednesday , but it does not count for the record books , while Mickelson himself carded a 59 at the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in 2004 , a four-man invitational tournament which does not count towards the official money list . The five golfers to have carded official 59s on the PGA Tour date back to Al Geiberger in 1977 . Paul Goydos , Chip Beck , David Duval and Australian Stuart Appleby , the latest in the 2010 Greenbrier Classic , have also achieved the feat . The world record is a 12-under 58 by young Japanese golfer Ryo Ishikawa at a tournament in his home country in 2010 . Mickelson 's heroics left him four shots clear of the field heading into Friday 's second round -- a big improvement on his two previous lackluster displays in earlier events in the 2013 season . The four-time major winner has also attracted controversy off the course over remarks he made about tax rates in his home state of California , but on it he remains an flamboyant performer who regularly thrills the galleries . Meanwhile , Richard Sterne of South Africa has a slender one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour . He followed his opening 62 -- one shy of compatriot Ernie Els ' superb course record -- with a two-under 70 in tougher conditions on the second day on the Majilis Course at the Emirates Golf Club . Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark , England 's Tommy Fleetwood and Stephen Gallacher of Scotland were tied for second on 133 . Spanish star Sergio Garcia was on 135 , while world number eight Lee Westwood of England trailed by six shots after a one-under 71 in his first tournament of the year .
Phil Mickelson shoots an 11-under 60 to lead Phoenix Open . Putt for a magical 59 agonizingly lips out on his final hole at TPC Scottsdale . It is the second time Mickelson has shot 60 on the PGA Tour . Richard Sterne leads Dubai Desert Classic at halfway .