Spieth tries to make a move at Royal Troon

The wind had shifted overnight to out of the west, putting it from left to right on the inward nine.

That leaves Stenson leading a major all by himself for the first time. He also would be the third-oldest major champion behind Julius Boros (48) and Morris, with whom Mickelson shares a birthday – June 16, albeit 149 years apart.

Links golf can deliver some odd finishes, though this had all the trappings of a two-man race on Sunday. He was at 2 under, along with U.S. Open champion and World No. 2 Dustin Johnson (69). He hit back-to-back shots from the fairway over the wall that lines the right side of the hole, and onto the rocks next to the rail track.

The 11th ranks as the hardest hole so far on Saturday. It was on Thursday, too. I made one or two bad swings that led to bogeys.

“But at four over par, my game is not major championship-winning caliber those first two rounds”, he said, per Ferguson. As much as I am not playing or practising as much as I would like to, when I get back onto links I can manage my way around because I have grown up doing it and will be doing it for a long time. Another shot back was Andrew Johnston, the Englishman with a big belly and beard to match who goes by “Beef”.

“So it was probably partly to do with that”, McIlroy said, “and partly the throw as well”. He reacted by hurling the 3-wood to the ground in front of him, and the head flew off.

McIlroy’s frustration had clearly been building as he plodded through a mediocre round that ended his chances of making a run at his second Open title.

“I made it a goal of mine to play better in these conditions and that was one of the better ones”.

Spieth faced two 10-foot birdie putts on his opening holes.

“I haven’t made a birdie in the first seven holes and it seems like the whole field has made about four each”. A double-bogey at the 11th effectively finished off his round, and he limped home with a 1-over 72 and a 5-over 218 for the tournament.

On his second nine, Vegas birdied the par-4 second, bogeyed the par-4 fourth, and birdied the par-5 fifth. And, of course, a final-round meltdown at the Masters cost him a chance to capture his second straight green jacket.

The top-ranked Ko, the 2014 tournament victor, had six birdies and one bogey at Highland Meadows to match Kim at 8-under 134.

Mickelson was at 10-under 132, the best 36-hole total ever at Royal Troon.

An errant drive at the 555-yard fourth hole forced Lefty to settle for a par.

That gave the 40-year-old Swede his first lead in a major, even if it was just one shot over someone who already has five majors and his name on the claret jug.

Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and McIlroy were in separate groups separated by four tee times. He is fed up with watching others go to No. 1 and win majors, and there was a sense he was ready to do something about it.

On a cool, blustery day along the Irish Sea, Phil Mickelson starts out at 10 under and clinging to a one-stroke lead over Henrik Stenson. Depending on what direction the wind comes from, you’ve seen guys shoot six under on the front nine.

The veteran left-hander then delivered a pinpoint tee shot at Royal Troon’s signature eighth hole, the par-three Postage Stamp, that landed several feet beyond the flag before spinning back to stop within inches of the cup.

Montgomerie said he likely won’t attempt to qualify for the Open again. He plays on the senior circuit now.

World No. 4 Rory McIlroy got within five shots of the lead until the weather and a few bad shots gobbled him up, and the four-time major champion dropped four shots in five holes. Spieth is 15 shots behind second-round leader Phil Mickelson, who was two hours from teeing off. “I still hit a good shot to advance it down the fairway like I did, and found a way to get up and down”.