A new day, new weather and old challenge for Mickelson

That was the facade.

The early starters had to withstand a buffeting from driving rain and gusty winds on the Ayrshire coastline. And then there are putts to achieve a certain immortality. It is the single-round Holy Grail in golf.

It was, though, only the ninth time a player has scored 63 at The Open and the first since Rory McIlroy, who did it in 2010 at St Andrews, which is a par-72. In fact, Mickelson began to raise his putter to walk it in. After making the turn in 33, Mickelson led by five shots but the 46-year-old American bogeyed Nos.

“It was outside a few inches, breaking left in the middle of the putt and then straight the last bit”.

Mickelson put his hand to his face and mouthed, “Oh my god”. His caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay, was so stunned he fell over backward.

Phil Mickelson says it is too early to talk about winning The Open, despite retaining top spot at Royal Troon.

“That putt on 18 was an opportunity to do something historical”. As he described it, the ball was in the middle of the cup with a foot to go.

“I thought it was just going to be right of it, and next thing I just saw it up against the flag and obviously the crowd going insane”, he said later. “We’ve still got two rounds to go”. I had that surge of adrenaline that I had just shot 62. “It was … wow, that stings”. His curling 15-foot putt for birdie circled the hole on 18 before settling just outside it. “I’ve felt it every time I’ve come back”. And it hasn’t even gone all that well on this course historically. The putt looked ideal – until it wasn’t. “I would love to add to it, but having already done that was big”.

“I know that was a chance to do something, a 62 in major championships, that I’ll likely never get the chance to do again”.

At the par-three Postage Stamp eighth, Mickelson almost holed out for an ace, marking his second straight birdie at the hole that can otherwise be treacherous. “The problem is you come in steeper and create a lot more spin”.

The odds aren’t necessarily on Kjeldsen’s side considering some of the big names he is up against, but he hasn’t beaten himself yet, and that is key in a tournament as grueling as the British Open. “I didn’t believe in the golfing gods before but I do now”. “But I do now”.

Heavy rain is expected on Friday. Mickelson got a day at Troon made for a Southern Californian.

Mickelson has not won a tournament since lifting the Claret Jug at Muirfield in 2013, but feels he is more than capable of becoming the fourth oldest major champion in history on Sunday.

The vibe at Royal Troon was good for him. “That was the first time I really did that, so I had instant success, and it’s been kind of a staple for me”.

Johnson, four under overnight, had four birdies and a bogey in his first six holes of the second round.

Watching back in Austin, Texas, Pelz was most pleased with Mickelson’s restraint off the tee. “If half the field plays in it and the other half doesn’t, well, that’s not great”. He used a binder clip on his hat just to keep it from blowing away in the wind.

“And that’s the one thing that I’ll have to try to suppress and hold off”.

Mickelson is a fine links player now.

Mickelson was one of eight players who have shot 63 in the opening round of a major, and he became only the third of them to follow that with another round under par. He was in total control of his ball.

“I still feel like my best game is in front of me”. That would have been something.

Phil Mickelson’s run at Royal Troon is continuing in the second round, and he’s now 11-under after nearly acing the infamous Postage Stamp.

THE Royal Troon calm evaporated over Martin Kaymer’s head.

Reed, a 25-year-old, four-time PGA Tour victor who professes to love links golf, took advantage of his early tee time.

Reed got his round going by holing out from 139 yards at the par-4 third hole for eagle.

“I really enjoy the challenge that this weather and these elements provide”, Mickelson said. After Mickelson hit eight of the 10 balls onto the green, some of them tight, the course superintendent ambled over to Pelz.

The British Open, contested on a rotation of courses, is the oldest major.