Masterful Run by Mickelson Fueled by Conditions at Royal Troon

(ATR) Umbrellas and rain gear were nowhere to be seen on a sun-splashed, warm, and beautiful day along the Scottish coast as the world’s best golfers took to the links of Royal Troon Golf Club.

First round leader Phil Mickelson and others took advantage of the favorable conditions and relatively benign wind, aggressively chasing birdies, while fans enjoyed basking in the sun on the opening day of the 145th Open Championship.

Mickelson played a splendid bogey-free round and missed breaking the single round Major championship record of 63 by millimeters. His 18-foot birdie putt on the 18th green somehow narrowly lipped out.

"It was one of the best rounds I’ve ever played and I was able to take advantage of these conditions, yet I want to shed a tear right now," Mickelson told reporters after the round. "The putt at 18 was an opportunity to do something historic, I knew it.

"I saw that ball rolling right towards the center, I thought I had done it," Mickelson explained. "I had that surge of adrenaline that I just shot 62 and then I had the heartbreak that I didn’t."

Four birdies on the front nine and four on the back nine gave "Lefty" an eight-under round of 63 for a three-shot lead ahead of fellow American Patrick Reed and German Martin Kaymer.

Navigating the venerable links course under sunny skies, Mickelson might have felt as if he was at home playing in Arizona, rather than on the often unforgiving Scottish Coast with its gusting winds and frequent downpours.

"It couldn’t be better – I haven’t seen a day like this in sometime," Mickelson said about Thursday’s weather as temperatures rose into the high teens Celsius. "I’ve been here 11 days and the wind is non-existent and the sun is out."

Reed – who this week accepted a place on the U.S. Olympic team following the withdrawal of countryman Dustin Johnson – was also surprised by the glorious weather.

"This is not normal," Reed said about weather conditions on the classic course that hugs the sandy Ayrshire Coast. "It was cold, windy, and I didn’t see the sun once the whole entire time I was at Inverness," he said of his experiences last week playing the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart a few hours north of Troon.

"So to come over here and see the sun, I felt like today was a lot easier than what I’ve had to deal with all last week," Reed said.

Jean Lespersance, the 15th hole marshall and a resident of the area was also bemused by the weather.

"This is an exception – it happens on a sporadic basis, but you get one out of ten days perfect like this," said Jean Lespersance, a Canadian who moved to Scotland ten years ago. "That’s why you see so many sunburned Scots – they take their shirts off when there is good weather."

True to Scottish Coast form, the weather is expected to drastically change for Friday’s second round on the 7190-yard long course as howling winds and rain are expected.

"I love it – that’s why I was here last week playing at Castle Stuart in that stuff," Mickelson said about playing in the typical Scottish elements considering the probable turn to nastier weather over the next three days. "I’ve spent a lot time learning how to play in that – I actually really enjoy it as long as we all play in it."

"I hope the back nine is downwind, because I can only imagine having the back nine blowing 30, 35-miles per hour into the wind," Reed added.

Among the field of 156 players that teed off on Thursday, 32 are expected to become Olympians, qualified for golf’s return to the Games next month in Rio de Janeiro.

Royal and Ancient chief executive Martin Slumbers said that 170,000 patrons are expected to turn out at Royal Troon for the four-day Open Championship.

"Our overriding concern or objective is to put on an absolute world-class experience for our players, our patrons, our spectators and our viewers," Slumbers said.

This week marks the ninth time that the Open Championship has been played at Troon dating back to 1923. U.S. golfers have captured the coveted Claret Jug the last six times, a streak started by the legendary Arnold Palmer in 1962.

The last time the Open came to Troon was in 2004, as unheralded 38-year-old American Todd Hamilton claimed victory defeating Ernie Els in a four-hole-playoff.

Considering Mickelson’s dominant play on Thursday and readiness to embrace some significantly tougher weather conditions over the days ahead, he seems to be in position to make it nine-in-a-row for U.S. golfers at Troon.

Around the Rings onsite coverage of the 145th Open Championship at Royal Troon is sponsored exclusively by EventScotland, working to make Scotland the Perfect Stage for Events.

Written by Brian Pinelliat Royal Troon in Ayrshire

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