Open Golf: Mickelson holds firm on day two

Phil Mickelson is nicely placed at one-over-par after a solid second round 74 at Muirfield.

The American coped well with the hot afternoon conditions, cancelling out double bogeys at the 2nd and 16th with birdies at 4, 9 and 11. 

He also holed confidently from ten feet at the 18th to end three shots behind Woods and Westwood and four behind leader Miguel Angel Jimenez.

“I fought hard today,” said Lefty, who was brilliantly received on the first tee. “I putted phenomenal. I made everything. Some of these six-footers, eight-footers, 15-footers for pars and stuff that I made were really hard and I ended up making them. 

“I putted phenomenal today to stay in the tournament.”

He also appeared to backtrack on comments made yesterday about the difficulty of the course.
I putted phenomenal. I made everything. Some of these six-footers, eight-footers, 15-footers for pars and stuff that I made were really hard “When I made those comments yesterday, I wasn’t being totally fair to The R&A, because they’ve done a lot of things great this championship .

“The fairway width is a very fair width to get the ball in play. The rough is difficult and challenging but it’s not over the top. It’s very fair in spots. And the setup has been great. And for me to single out just a few sketchy pin placements and not give them credit for all the good things they’ve done was not fair of me yesterday.”

Looking ahead to the weekend, the American said that whoever lifts the Claret Jug will be the one who best holds it together around the greens.

“I think that two-putting from 60 to 100 feet, around that range, is going to be important, and making those six-footers, six-to-12 footers, those are really big par saves.

“Certainly a bunch of guys are going to fall by the wayside.”