It was the sixth birdie of the day for the 2013 victor of the Claret Jug and allowed Mickelson, at six-under, to move a stroke clear of the rest of the field on a day of glorious sunshine.
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Yet after his first-hole problems, five birdies in the following eight holes saw him make the turn in 33 and, for a few minutes, he was top of the leaderboard.
His fellow American Patrick Reed was the clubhouse leader at five-under, followed by a host of players on four-under.
Justin Thomas, playing in his first British Open, was one shot back of Reed after shooting 67, along with veteran Steve Stricker and Billy Horschel. And not to be overlooked is Zach Johnson, the defending champion, who was 4 under through 10 holes. Again, there is background to be applied; McIlroy, a four-times major champion, does kickstart golf every time he wins.
Phil Mickelson is the 26th player in major championship history to shoot a 63.
His second shot landed in him in such trouble that it took two shots to get out of the bunker.
European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke will also have been encouraged by a level-par 71 but there was less cheer for both Shane Lowry and Paul Dunne. So that happens, unfortunately, in a tournament round where I’m giving myself a lot of looks at birdie. The formula: Feast on the front nine and hang on for dear life on the back. He got too aggressive, caught the left bunker with his tee shot, and had to play away from the hole and to the back of the green with his second.
“It was a great honour for me and for the family and the members of Troon that I kicked this off this morning”.
The Americans took advantage of the sunny weather Thursday to shoot 5-under 31 on the front nine at the British Open.
The biggest damage was being done by the par-four 11th, which played the hardest hole on the course in the 2004 Open and had yet to yield a single birdie.
With virtually no wind to start the 145th Open, the gentle outward nine at Royal Troon was living up to its reputation as the time to get birdies.
When the two – along with Lee Westwood – reached the green, Els offered to putt first, despite being closer.
The day began with local favourite Colin Montgomerie hitting the opening drive – his first appearance at an Open in six years and what may well be his last.
Montgomerie, widely considered the best player to have never won a major, qualified at age 53 for what likely will be his last Open, and certainly his last at Royal Troon. The third shot looped up and rolled back into his footprint – “and my footprint is deeper than most”, Montgomerie said, jokingly – so he had to hit the ball out sideways with his fourth shot.
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The former Ryder Cup captain was afforded the honour of hitting the first shot of the championship at 6.35am and it was a challenge he relished, despite later admitting he needed to draw on some high-profile experiences to handle the nerves. Five dogs were on the beach. “It’s one of these golf courses that it allows you to get off to a quick start and allows you to get nearly overconfident and cocky”. Montgomerie teed off with Marc Leishman and Luke Donald.
