Stars in Monaco tune-up
ormer champion Phil Mickelson went clear at the top of the leaderboard at the British Open on Thursday after a stunning eight-under-par first round of 63 at Royal Troon. The 2013 winner of the Claret Jug came within inches of becoming the first golfer ever to record a 62 in major championship history as his birdie putt at the last licked the cup, just refusing to drop.
His flawless effort featured eight birdies, including at 16 and 17 in a fantastic late charge, and not a single dropped shot.
Mickelson leads in the clubhouse by three strokes from fellow American Patrick Reed.
Meanwhile, American Patrick Reed’s decision to spend a week of reconnaissance at the Scottish Open yielded a handsome dividend as he sprinted to the top of the leaderboard early in the British Open yesterday.
Assisted by an outrageous eagle two at the third hole of the first round, the world number 13 signed for a five-under-par 66 on a relatively calm, sunny day at Royal Troon.
Reed finished in a share of 10th place at the Scottish Open and his links experience in the wind and rain of Inverness seems to have proved beneficial.
“I think it was really important,” the 25-year-old Texan told reporters. “I wanted to come over and play and it was one of those things that I felt like it was normal Scotland weather.
“This is not normal today. To see the sun I felt like it was a lot easier than what I had to deal with all last week and it kind of allowed me to be a little more aggressive with iron shots into the greens.” That did not appear to be the case on the first hole, though, as Reed snap-hooked a four-iron off the tee way left.
He recovered to save par before sending his second shot into the heart of the green at the third and watching the ball disappear into the cup.
Strong position
Reed said his approach stroke at the first was the one that made his juices start to flow.
“I had 139 yards to the green and hit a really solid five-iron to pin high and I felt like that right there, that one shot, kind of got me going,” he said.
“To have the exact same number at the third from the fairway, I already knew what to do. I didn’t see how it went in but after watching the TV screens I think it two or three-hopped into the hole.”
The last six Troon Opens have been won by Americans but Reed is not getting ahead of himself and is more concerned with the rain and strong winds forecast to arrive on Friday.
“With how competition is these days it doesn’t really matter where you’re from or anything like that,” he said.
“The main thing is to stay with my game plan because the odds of me going out and eagling three ... are rare.”
Texan Reed, 25, signalled his intent when he holed his approach shot for an eagle two at the par-four third.
He then added birdies at the fourth, sixth and seventh to reach the turn in 31, but bogeyed the 10th and 13th and did well to come home in level-par 35.
The stiff breeze blowing in from the Firth of Clyde has made life particularly difficult on the back nine, and Reed admitted his relief at coming through his round in such a strong position. “It doesn’t matter if the wind is blowing or not, that back nine is tough,” said the former Junior Open winner.
“It’s one of these golf courses that allows you to get off to a quick start, allows you to get almost over-confident and cocky, and all of a sudden you get a little too careless on the back nine and you can go shoot 31-41.”
His compatriot Justin Thomas also handled the conditions expertly to put himself in contention. Appearing in his first Open championship, the 23-year-old scored an excellent four-under-par round of 67 after beginning his day with birdies at each of the first four holes. He had seven birdies altogether along with a bogey five at the 10th and a double-bogey six at the 15th. Farah, Schippers among big names to test their Rio-readiness in the Monaco Golden League today |