“That putt was an opportunity to do something historic”.
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“I’ve seen all these highlights and I feel like crying”, he said.
The 16-foot putt looked good until the last turn, catching the right side of the cup. At the top, Mickelson came close to golfing history when he lipped out a birdie attempt on 18 for a first ever 62 in a Major. That’s why he describes it as “heartbreaking”.
Chris Wood of England has withdrawn from the British Open because of a recurrence of a neck injury. He was 3 over par.
He became the eighth player to begin a major championship with a 63, and Mickelson said it’s never easy to follow that up the next day.
And he had reason to be disappointed.
His hand went to his head in disbelief.
The British Open is the third major of the calendar year. As a small consolation, Mickelson has the course record at Royal Troon. And he likely will have the lead.
One name stands out, however.
Mickelson, 46, who won The Open at Muirfield three years ago. had an 18-footer for birdie at the 18th that appeared in, cut the right lip and spun out.
Fellow Americans Steve Stricker and Justin Thomas shot 4-under 67s in Round 1.
“I had a lot of looks from 25 feet and a couple from inside 10 feet”. He had to scramble for par on the first hole and took bogey on the next hole. “There’s a lot of guys that have shot 63, but nobody has shot that 62”. Dunne, who was one of the stars of The Open previous year as an amateur, finished with a 77. The PGA Championship will unfold in the last week of July.
Where: Royal Troon Golf Club, Troon, Scotland.
Still Mickelson is in the clubhouse with a three-shot lead over Patrick Reed – the early pace setter – Martin Kaymer and the defending champion Zach Johnson, all on five-under.
The Scot’s early start meant he skipped breakfast, but he conceded to feeling a few hunger pangs when a whiff of bacon drifted across the course at the seventh hole.
Its nice that the tournament started, McIlroy said after firing a 2-under 69. He bogeyed the first hole after hitting his driver a long way right.
But Lahiri also added,”In the last two holes, that I didn’t play solid, it was nice to not drop shots as I wasn’t in position”.
Although he actually got his par at the 11th on his way to a highly respectable four-under 67, he sees the 482-yard par-four hole as a challenge like no other.
The Americans were queuing up to rip Royal Troon to shreds on a day when the sun shone and a gentle breeze offered no resistance. It was a proud moment for the 53-year-old Scotsman but things quickly turned sour.
But a double-bogey on 13 and a bogey on 14 ended his run.
I think if I wouldve stepped on the first tee and someone would have given me a 69, I probably would have taken it, McIlroy said. He couldn’t keep it going, settling for three bogeys on the tougher inward nine to fall off the leaderboard.
Eight of the top 11 are from the United States.
On a sunny day, McIlroy finishes two under in the opening round of British Open.
Colin Montgomerie found that out. Alas, Monty couldn’t keep it going. He played the par 5s in even.
Scores across the board were lower than the typical Open Championship. As many as 74 players shot par or under.
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David Duval, the 2001 champion, knows all of that now after he had a nine there while his playing partners Sandy Lyle, who lifted the Claret Jug in 1985, and Scott Gregory outperformed him with treble-bogey sevens. Five dogs were on the beach.
