Mickelson loses British lead to Stenson

Phil Mickelson of the United States plays from a bunker on the 18th green during the third round of the British Open Golf Championship at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland, Saturday, July 16, 2016.

If Thursday’s exemplary 63 – just one agonising lip out from a historic lowest Major round of 62 – was an exhibition in thrilling shot-making, yesterday’s 69 was a display of grit and guts in the deluge.

“I’ve played very well and that gives me optimism going into the weekend”, he said.

But Mickelson had every reason to be proud of his day, digging deep in the heaviest of the mid-morning rain that battered Ayrshire using all the canny shots and wily low two-iron stingers he could muster to get home safely. There were 15 scores of double bogey or higher. When I made birdie on the fourth I thought let’s try and fight back into contention.

“You’ve got to understand that some people get lucky, some people get unlucky”, said Day, the world’s top-ranked player and one of only four golfers to break par in the afternoon.

He was one shot ahead of Stenson, who picked up three quick birdies before the rain showed up, and he got a few more during lulls in the weather.

One after another, those who endured the worst of it tried to describe what they had just been through, a dazed look in many of their eyes.

Five-times major victor Phil Mickelson shrugged off the worst weather of the week, squally showers and gusts up to 20mph, to maintain his lead in the British Open second round on Friday.

Rory McIlroy had not given up hope of a second Open title despite starting the day eight shots off the lead, but three-putted the first hole and missed from close range to drop another shot on the third.

Summerhays, who finished in a tie for eighth in the recent U.S. Open, shot a 73 and finished the day at 2-over 144. I played kind of stress-free golf again.

A frustrated Rory McIlroy snapped his three wood after hurling it to the ground as he struggled to make inroads on the leaders at Royal Troon in the third round of The Open.

“Four bogeys on the back side and when you’re playing golf like that you don’t deserve to win”.

“That’s probably why I love it so much”.

He might not have said the same about the weather that swept in from the Firth of Clyde in the afternoon, however, and those teeing off after midday toiled as it got wetter and windier.

“That’s where it really kind of turned for me”. Either the lead duo is going to pull away from the pack to set up a virtual head-to-head duel for the Claret Jug on Sunday, or the leaderboard will tighten up and set the stage for a wild finish.

Former Open champion Ernie Els failed to make the weekend, while his fellow South African Louis Oosthuizen collapsed a day after recording a hole in one at the 14th. “So I was fighting pretty hard but determined to get through, and it’s nice being in this position now”.

“It goes through your mind, ‘I wish I could have played in the morning, ‘ ” he said after finishing the round with 17 pars and one disastrous snowman.