You can't trust a temptress; and if players arrived to a seaside links here on the Ayrshire coast which had garnered a ferocious reputation over time only to find a rather benevolent creature, Phil Mickelson discovered a sting in the tail: his birdie putt for an historic 62 in this opening round of the 145th British Open touched the lip of the tin cup of the 18th green of Royal Troon, only to stubbornly refuse to drop.
He’d been refuted at the death!
So it was that Mickelson signed for a 63, eight-under-par, which nevertheless was a stunning performance from the showman. “Did he believe in the golfing gods?” he was asked. “I didn’t, but I do now,” Mickelson responded, shaking his head at how his 18-feet putt on the final green had somehow contrived to remain above ground.
“That putt on 18 was an opportunity to do something historical. I knew it, and with a foot to go I thought I had done it. I saw that ball rolling right in the centre. I went to go get it, I had that surge of adrenaline that I had just shot 62, and then I had the heartbreak that I didn’t and watched that ball lip out . . . . it was just heartbreaking,” said Mickelson.
Ernie Els, playing alongside him, was similarly bemused. "I don't know how that putt didn't go in .... (he) played beautifully, was in total control of his ball," said the South African of Mickelson.
In truth, this was - for the most part - a pet day on the Scottish shores, with Mickelson's masterclass, the ninth round of 63 recorded in Open championship history, a show stealer on a day of good scoring. Mickelson's brilliance gave him a three shot lead over fellow American Patrick Reed and Germany's Martin Kaymer, with eight players packed together a shot further back.
As many players made hay, none more so than Mickelson, the Irish challenge failed to properly ignite with Rory McIlroy (69) and Pádraig Harrington (70) the only two of the sextet to record sub-par rounds. But it proved to be a disastrous opening round for Shane Lowry, whose confidence took a hammering after a 78 that would require something akin to a minor miracle to survive the cut.
McIlroy’s round could and should have been better, tainted by a double-bogey on the 13th followed by a bogey on the 14th as his mind was still analysing what had happened on the previous hole.
If there was any solace for McIlroy - who completed his round some four hours before Mickelson - it was that he had otherwise controlled his ball flight beautifully and putted solidly, which should stand him in good stead in chasing down Mickelson; and especially in conditions that are anticipated to deteriorate in the second round, with heavy rain and winds gusting to 35 miles an hour.
“It’s the Open Championship, and you know coming in here you’re going to have to battle the elements somewhat,” said a pragmatic McIlroy, adding: “Once I got into my rhythm, I started to hit good shots. I think technique-wise my swing mightn’t be exactly where I wanted, but it’s definitely good enough this week to contend and have a chance to win.”
That chase-down of Mickelson will also involved leapfrogging over other players with the same thought, although the task will be even more difficult for world number one Jason Day (73) and the other members of the so-called Big Four. US Open champion Dustin Johnson started his day by driving out onto the beach, ultimately signing for a 71, whilst Jordan Spieth also finished with a 71.
And the course’s capacity to inflict pain was all too apparent in how the 11th hole treated some tortured souls. The Par 4 11th played to an average of 4.7 - by a distance the toughest hole of all - with no fewer than 45 bogeys and 25 scores of double-bogey or worse.
For Mickelson, there was no sidetracks or distractions. He was a player in control of the ball to the extent he never wavered and finished bogey-free in his quest to take a step towards a second Claret Jug. That final round 66 at Muirfield in 2013 was, he acknowledged his “best” simply for the fact it gave him victory. This round here, though, measured very close for its historical opportunity.
As he walked down the 18th fairway, Els sidled over to him. “You know this is for a 62,” he said. Mickelson knew. And was afforded the chance to have the stage all to himself, as Lee Westwood and Els finished out.
Faced with an 18-footer for history, Mickelson gave it his best. “If I had just hit a weak flail-off and never had a chance and left it short, so be it. But this ball was hunting right in the centre and didn’t go. It still stings. That putt didn’t go in on the last. It’s still heartbreaking, even after such a great round,” he said.
Round one scores at end of play (par 71, Irish players in bold): 63 Phil Mickelson (USA)
66 Martin Kaymer (Ger), Patrick Reed (USA)
67 Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Steve Stricker (USA), Zach Johnson (USA), Tony Finau (USA), Keegan Bradley (USA), Justin Thomas (USA), Andrew Sullivan, Billy Horschel (USA)
68 Justin Rose, Shugo Imahira (Jpn), Bill Haas (USA), Sergio Garcia (Spa), Yuta Ikeda (Jpn), Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spa), Thomas Pieters (Bel), Soomin Lee (Kor), Richard Sterne (Rsa), Henrik Stenson (Swe)
69 Andrew Johnston, Francesco Molinari (Ita), Adam Scott (Aus), Matt Jones (Aus), Gary Woodland (USA), Zander Lombard (Rsa), Emiliano Grillo (Arg), Vijay Singh (Fij), Rory McIlroy, Kodai Ichihara (Jpn), Jamie Donaldson, Rickie Fowler (USA), Anirban Lahiri (Ind)
70 K.T. Kim (Kor), Alex Noren (Swe), Haydn Porteous (Rsa), Byeong-Hun An (Kor), Matteo Manassero (Ita), Branden Grace (Rsa), Bubba Watson (USA), Webb Simpson (USA), Kevin Na (USA), J.B. Holmes (USA), Justin Leonard (USA), Tyrrell Hatton, Jim Herman (USA), Kevin Kisner (USA), Ryan Moore (USA), Padraig Harrington
71 Charley Hoffman (USA), Harold Varner III (USA), Ross Fisher, Danny Willett, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Phachara Khongwatmai (Tha), Robert Rock, Scott Hend (Aus), Mark O'Meara (USA), Ernie Els (Rsa), Daniel Summerhays (USA), Lee Westwood, Jordan Spieth (USA), Jason Dufner (USA), Colin Montgomerie, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Matt Kuchar (USA), Matthew Southgate, Kevin Chappell (USA), Darren Clarke, Victor Dubuisson (Fra), Dustin Johnson (USA), Ryan Evans, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa)
72 Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Marco Dawson (USA), Ryan Palmer (USA), Nathan Holman (Aus), Jimmy Walker (USA), Marcus Fraser (Aus), Chris Kirk (USA), Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel), Greg Chalmers (Aus), Smylie Kaufman (USA), Scott Fernandez (Spa), Hideto Tanihara (Jpn), Paul Lawrie, Thorbjorn Olesen (Den), Rod Pampling (Aus), Dave Coupland, Russell Knox, Jordan Niebrugge (USA)
73 Steven Alker (Nzl), Brandon Stone (Rsa), Paul Howard (Gbr), Tommy Fleetwood, Russell Henley (USA), Jason Day (Aus), Richie Ramsay, Callum Shinkwin, David Lingmerth (Swe), Sang-hee Lee (Kor), Harris English (USA), Brendan Steele (USA), Mark Calcavecchia (USA), Luke Donald, Brandt Snedeker (USA), Matthew Fitzpatrick
74 Colt Knost (USA), David Howell, Nick Cullen (Aus), Rikard Karlberg (Swe), Robert Streb (USA), Yosuke Tsukada (Jpn), Jim Furyk (USA), Marc Leishman (Aus), Jon Rahm (Spa), James Hahn (USA), Bernd Wiesberger (Aut)
75 Seung-Yul Noh (Kor), Graeme McDowell, Joost Luiten (Ned), Clement Sordet (Fra), Todd Hamilton (USA), William McGirt (USA), George Coetzee (Rsa), Jamie Lovemark (USA), John Daly (USA), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha), James Heath, Jeunghun Wang (Kor), Oskar Arvidsson (Swe)
76 Anthony Wall, Satoshi Kodaira (Jpn), Stefano Mazzoli (a) (Ita), Brian Gay (USA), Patton Kizzire (USA), Fabian Gomez (Arg), James Morrison
77 Marc Warren, Kristoffer Broberg (Swe), Paul Dunne, Paul Casey, Ben Curtis (USA), Scott Piercy (USA), Yusaku Miyazato (Jpn)
78 Danny Lee (Nzl), Lasse Jensen (Den), Shane Lowry, Scott Gregory (a)
79 Jack Senior, Steven Bowditch (Aus)
82 David Duval (USA)
85 Sandy Lyle
