Is Phil Mickelson Breaking his British Open Curse?
Sitting at number two on the Official World Golf Rankings, it is no secret to the golf world that American golfer Phil Mickelson has yet to win at the British Open (The Open). The old greens that Links golf is played on could contribute to this disappointing fact. The turbulent weather these Opens are known for could also be to blame.
Going into The Open this year, Mickelson was determined to finally add a British Open Championship to his impressive career. It wasn’t a good start for Mickelson, however, as he had the unfortunate luck of a late start on day one when the winds were at their most powerful, pushing golfers’ shots far off their marks.
Onlookers witnessed an at best mediocre form from Mickelson Thursday night. He tallied an unfortunate 1-over 73 score, ending the first round ten shots behind first place leader Rory McIlroy.
Before taking his first shot yesterday, Mickelson told CBC news that he felt positive about his chances: "I expect to play well here, I really do," he said Tuesday. "I expect to be in contention."
It seems that Mickelson desperately wanted to break his string of bad luck on the tricky, old greens of St. Andrews.
Unfortunately, his game just wasn’t there as he holed a double-bogey on the par-4 13th after making par at the first 12. Mickelson’s quick exit and refusal to be interviewed reflected his grave disappointment.
Going into the second round today, Mickelson was more concerned about making the cut than winning The Open. He faced tough winds for his second round on the old course scoring a qualifying, but not great 71, that left him discouraged once again: "I’m frustrated because I love this golf course and this tournament and I felt I was playing well coming into it," he said, adding that he blames his bad luck on his ill-fated starting draw: “I’ve gotten kind of an unfortunate draw.”
Professional golfers are usually chided for blaming external factors like bad greens and weather conditions for poor scores. Tiger Woods received a lot of flack recently for his complaints about Pebble Beach’s unkempt course at the 2010 US Open.
Serious winds raging at 40 kilometres an hour are perhaps a more acceptable scapegoat. Mickelson explains the winds’ handicapping effects to his game this week: "With winds 4/k strong you know your putts from three feet are greatly affected, not to mention trying to make eight, 10 or 12 footers in crosswinds…The balls are blowing a little bit and you can’t play the ball in the air. It’s got to be along the ground because once it gets in the air, it just keeps going off line.”
Does Mickleson still stand a chance?
A 71 following a 73 at The Open does not put the golf’s number two up with the best at St. Andrews, but rough starts are nothing new for Mickelson. Recapping his British Open records, he has only broken par once in the last seven Opens he has played. The only time the golfer has even seen the top 10 at an Open Championship was in 2004.
Why should we still have faith in Mickelson? His first score at that very same 2004 Open Championship that landed him his best third place at an Open, was a 73. Despite all the talk about the bad luck plaguing his game, a start of 73 against 40 kilometre winds could mean good things for Mickelson.
If his score keeps getting lower and weather conditions improve, Mickelson stands a good chance of making it to Sunday’s finals. Who knows? He could still take the Claret Jug home.
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