Win or Lose, Seeing Vintage Phil Mickelson at 2016 Open Championship Is a Treat

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: July 16, 2016

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It was old-school Phil Mickelson.

Over a few Saturday minutes on the 18th hole at Royal Troon, the 46-year-old showed the smorgasbord of moods and magic those who’ve followed his game for decades have grown accustomed to.

He grimaced as he watched a drive tango with the fairway’s right-side fringe. He barked as camera clicks interrupted the downswing of a second shot that found a green-side bunker. He studied before casually flicking the ball to a cozy three feet. He pumped his fist as the short putt dropped for a gritty par.

And as he stood alone waiting for playing partner Henrik Stenson, the Day 3 leader, to finish, he smiled.

It was surely a smile of relief for having escaped a blustery Scottish afternoon within a shot of hoisting a second Claret Jug since 2013. And perhaps a smile of concession that as the birthdays add up and the career clock clicks down, he may be enjoying the twilight even more than the limelight.



It’s the way those of us watching ought to feel.

Because as great as Lefty’s been while racking up multiple majors and mountains of money, the three days he’s had during trip No. 23 to The Open Championship have got to rate highly thanks to the echoes of past brilliance he’s woken up through 54 holes.

He was a shot off a major championship record after 18 and 10 under par after 36, but he saved some special moments for Day 3—particularly during a three-hole stretch at Nos. 11, 12 and 13.

A missed green at 11 preceded a chip to eight feet and a clutch par, and the ante was upped on 12 when his drive bounced off the gorse and set up a punch shot into the fairway. A chip from there soared past the hole before spinning back like a yo-yo and setting up another unlikely par.

Then, on 13, a 30-footer for birdie set the slimmer, trimmer way-back machine into high gear.



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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Golf

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