The draw Phil Mickelson had feared worked in his favour.
The American’s 69 at Royal Troon yesterday was a bit after the Lord Mayor’s Show, but he successfully negotiated his way to retain the lead at halfway in the 145th Open Championship.
The half of the field Mickelson wasn’t in were hammered first by Thursday morning’s breezes and by more yesterday afternoon. It left a series of top names coralled in that section floundering in Phil’s wake.
The American was reined in, however. Henrik Stenson, in between running from the safety of his brolly to hit his shots in the rain, had a 65 to trim the 2013 champion’s lead to just a shot; it was three when Mickelson beat Stenson into second at Muirfield three years ago.
Mickelson’s second round included one or two false shots – there didn’t seem to be any in Thursday’s 63 – but no disasters. Not for him the 80 to follow as Rory McIlroy had done after the last first round 63 in a major – at St Andrews in 2010 – although of course he had nothing like the weather conditions that McIlroy had faced.
Instead, Mickelson was grinning afterwards because this famous gambler knew he’d rolled the dice on the draw and come out with a double seven. The rain forecast for yesterday was late in arriving and did little more than make things a little uncomfortable.
The wind didn’t show up at all until after he was safely in the clubhouse drying out his rainsuit and the other half of the field had to deal with the worst conditions for the second day in a row.
He’s not going to escape like this all weekend, as he readily acknowledges, but he’s ready for it.
“I’ve been here 11 days and got accustomed to how the air and the wind and the rain affects the ball over here,” he pointed out. “I was actually more worried about yesterday’s round than I was these coming rounds (in tougher weather) because I feel very comfortable in the conditions to be able to shoot a number, to shoot a good score.
“I was worried about guys going low on the beautiful day yesterday and not being able to keep pace. So yesterday’s round was a big round for me to ultimately keep pace or set the pace, but to not lose too much ground because I felt like these coming three days are the days that I’d be best prepared for.
“I made one or two bad swings that led to bogeys,” he admitted. “But for the most part kept the ball in play and played kind of stress-free golf. It was a good round to back up yesterday.”
The highlight of the round was a “sauced” strike at the Postage Stamp which almost spun back into the hole. Mickelson has played the short holes in five-under with no bogeys thus far.
It’s far too early to be talking about winning, he stressed, but he certainly likes his chances from this position, because of his previous victory and his experience.
“I don’t feel the pressure like probably a lot of players do to try to win the Claret Jug because I’ve already won it, and that takes a lot of pressure off me. I would love to add to it, but having already done that was big.
“The other thing is that from ten years ago I’m 25 pounds lighter, I’m in better shape, I’m physically stronger than I was. I feel better and now that my swing is back on plane, I’m starting to play some of my best golf again.
“So I don’t see why there’s any reason why I can’t continue that not just this week but for years. That’s kind of what the game plan is.”
Stenson also took advantage of the better conditions, picking up early birdies before the rains came, capitalising again when there was a brief break and then grinding his way home to his 65 on the back nine through the heavy rain.
For the first time since 2013, he played the Scottish Open last week; and naturally that’s entirely the reason why he’s doing well at the Open again.
“You wanted me to say this last week, didn’t you,” he joked. “You’re very loyal Scotsmen. I certainly had a tough test on Thursday up there. So of course I owe everything for me being in good position here to playing at the Scottish Open.”
In truth, yesterday he was just hoping to keep Mickelson within his sights.
“I was five back of Phil from yesterday, so of course I was hoping to gain a little, and the way it turned out I gained quite a lot,” he said.
“It’s still early in the tournament though. If this was Saturday night, I’d feel I was right there. But we still have 27 holes before it gets really interesting.”
At 40 Stenson does feel he has to strike now if he’s going to get a major, although he has someone who has plenty of experience in his way.
“It’s not like I’m going to have another 50 goes at these,” he said. “I better start getting myself in position and giving myself more chances.
“You know Phil’s not going to back down. He’s got a number of majors already and he wants to have another couple I’m sure, so he’s not going to take his foot off the pedal.
“He’s going to keep on trying as hard as he can, and he’s a great player. It feels like we’ve been out there together every second week this year.
“But I enjoy his company and I’m looking forward to the challenge. But there’s a long way to go. I shouldn’t be thinking about outcomes, although you keep asking me about them.”
