Phil Mickelson unexpectedly earned the third leg of the career grand slam in 2013 with his Open Championship win at Muirfield. Not many gave him much of a chance to win another Claret Jug, but he took an unexpected and nearly historic step towards that on Thursday at Royal Troon.
With the first 62 in major championship within his sights, Mickelson hit a putt that he believed was good enough for history, until it didn’t drop.
Phil Mickelson on just missing out on a 1st round 62: “I want to cry.” https://t.co/ybIqWq8kzE #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/eyoKX58kxp
— SportsCentre (@SportsCentre) July 14, 2016
The best part of a bad situation? Mickelson’s caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay, reacted like this after the putt lipped out.
It was just too much for Phil’s caddie. #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/tmeO76iS1Y
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 14, 2016
Phil got out to a three-stroke lead after the first-round 63 with Patrick Reed and Martin Kaymer ending the day as his closest pursuers.
A look at Phil Mickelson’s record-breaking scorecard.#TheOpen pic.twitter.com/zLXNcFLVw4
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 14, 2016
Here are Thursday’s end-of-day highlights from TheOpen.com.
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