Most golfers would be over the moon if they shot a 63, but not Phil Mickelson. In the opening round of the British Open at Royal Troon golf course in Scotland, the American had a 16-foot putt on the 18th hole lip out after appearing to be dead center.
The miss prevented Mickelson from becoming the first golfer ever to shoot a 62 at a major championship, and left him rueing over what might have been.
“There's a lot of guys that have shot 63, but nobody has shot that 62. That would have been really something special. I'm just not going to have opportunities like that to do that. So to have that putt lip out, that's going to sting for a while.”
It was just too much for Phil's caddie. #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/tmeO76iS1Y
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 14, 2016
THE DAY AFTER
On Friday, Mickelson followed his 63 with a two-under par 69 to remain in first place by a stroke over Sweden’s Henrik Stenson.
TWENTY-SIX 63s
Of the twenty-six 63s that have been shot in a major competition, only Greg Norman has done it twice — first in 1996 at the Masters, and then again ten years later at the British Open.
Masters (2)
Nick Price, 1986, third round (9-under)
Greg Norman, 1996, first round (9-under)
U.S. Open (4)
Johnny Miller, 1973 (Oakmont CC), final round (8-under)*
Jack Nicklaus, 1980 (Baltusrol CC), first round (7-under)*
Tom Weiskopf, 1980 (Baltusrol CC), first round (7-under)
Vijay Singh, 2003 (Olympia Fields CC), second round (7-under)
The Open Championship (9)
Mark Hayes, 1977 (Turnberry), second round (7-under)
Isao Aoki, 1980 (Muirfield), third round (8-under)
Greg Norman, 1986 (Turnberry), second round (7-under)*
Paul Broadhurst, 1990 (St. Andrews), third round (9-under)
Jodie Mudd, 1991 (Birkdale), final round (7-under)
Nick Faldo, 1993 (St. George’s), final round (7-under)
Payne Stewart, 1993 (St. George’s), final round (7-under)
Rory McIlroy, 2010 (St. Andrews), first round (9-under)
Phil Mickelson, 2016 (Royal Troon), first round (8-under)
PGA Championship (13)
Bruce Crampton, 1975 (Firestone GC), second round (7-under)
Raymond Floyd, 1982 (Southern Hills CC), first round (7-under)*
Gary Player, 1984 (Shoal Creek), second round (9-under)
Vijay Singh, 1993 (Inverness Club), second round (8-under)
Michael Bradley, 1995 (Riviera CC), first round (8-under)
Brad Faxon, 1995 (Riviera CC), final round (8-under)
Jose Maria Olazabal, 2000 (Valhalla GC), third round (9-under)
Mark O’Meara, 2001 (Atlanta Athletic Club), second round (7-under)
Thomas Bjorn, 2005 (Baltusrol CC), third round (7-under)
Tiger Woods, 2007 (Southern Hills CC), second round (7-under)*
Steve Stricker, 2011 (Atlanta Athletic Club), first round (7-under)
Jason Dufner, 2013 (Oak Hill CC), second round (7-under)*
Hiroshi Iwata, 2015 (Whistling Straits), second round (9-under)
* Went on to win
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