Phil Mickelson and the British Open were made for one another. Though he finally got the Major monkey off his back at Augusta in 2004, it’s been the open layouts of The Open that have long seemed a perfect match for Lefty’s game and go-for-broke attitude. The only trouble you find on the links is bunkers, and Phil knows bunkers the way Bo Jackson knew sports things. Still. Mickelson didn’t win his first (and only) British Open until 2013.
Mickelson snatched the first round lead at the 2016 Open at Royal Troon with an 8-birdie round of 63, missing a putt on 18 that would have given him the all-time low score at a major championship. He missed the putt, as wordsmith David Feherty might say, by a “coat of paint.” Mickelson has been in the news lately more for his gambling than for his golf, but he’s always a threat — especially with the high stakes of a major and a layout he loves. In a nod to his penchant for wagering, we should point out that Mickelson entered as a 40/1 shot.
#PhilMickelson after heart-wrenching #BritishOpen lip out: ‘I feel like crying.’https://t.co/oRfprwJSU8 pic.twitter.com/62yhiwsyDH
— MSN (@MSN) July 14, 2016
This replay of Phil Mickelson missing the putt for 62 is INSANE. How does the ball move right at the end?!? pic.twitter.com/5GjF1R3oi2
— GreenJacketAuctions (@BidGreenJacket) July 14, 2016
