American golfer Phil Mickelson is still in the lead at the midway point of the British Open, firing a two-under 69 on a rainy and windy day at Royal Troon Golf Club to leave him 10 strokes under par for the tournament.
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Nobody really enjoys playing golf in what amounts to the middle of a bitterly cold coastal hurricane.
They were shackled again Saturday in the third round of the British Open, still couldn’t shake loose and were set for one very important rematch Sunday at Royal Troon.
After a sloppy approach shot on the 554-yard par-five, he swung the club over his head and then hurled it forward.
And it was the ageing American, a victor of five major titles, who went back into the lead as Stenson dropped shots at the 6th and 8th holes to fall back to -10, a shot behind Mickelson.
Summerhays, who finished in a tie for eighth in the recent U.S. Open, shot a 73 and finished the day at 2-over 144. I made one or two bad swings that led to bogeys. He fell from 4-under and in contention to even par.
Spieth had the most hard time of the four, because the bad weather coincided with some struggles he’s had this week with his swing. I just wish I had got off to a better start.
His 1-under round of 70 on Saturday was a vast improvement on Friday’s 77, in which he failed to record a single birdie in the stormy conditions, and he admitted his regret at failing to play more strategic golf.
“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”, he said.
“You just have to shoot a number, it doesn’t matter how”. But I’m not going to let being on the wrong side ruin my mood or ruin my week.
Time was when players from overseas would struggle in conditions that were standard for British players, but only one player from the home nations – England’s Andrew Johnston – is inside the top 10 going into the final round. In one short stretch, with the rain pelting down in sheets, he ran through four new gloves.
Rory McIlroy, who was two-under overnight, Jordan Spieth and world number one Jason Day were among those with afternoon tee-times on Friday. Well, he might have had he chosen to rip a 3-wood, but the play wasn’t worth the risk.
And yet he began with a bogey at the par-four first and also dropped shots at the third and the fifth.
Day said it was no great coincidence he and his big-name rivals were battling to keep pace. “The last Open I played [in 2014], I got the good end of the draw and good things happened that week”. “I get you have to cover it, but why do you have to interfere with it?”
Fighting through the elements hasn’t always been McIlroy’s forte, even if he did grow up experiencing similar summer conditions in Northern Ireland.
“I haven’t made a birdie in the first seven holes and it seems like the whole field has made about four each”. He played his final five holes in 1 under to post his 71.
“Look, I grew up playing in it”, said McIlroy, the 2014 Open champion, “but over the last few years, being based in the states (Florida) for 75 percent of my time, you get used to the conditions over there and hitting it through the air”.
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“This is a bit different”. But it’s a challenge and it’s the Open and you expect it, and that’s part of the fun about it, I guess.
