The final major championship of the year, The Open Championship at Royal Portrush, is underway. The favorites coming in included Scottie Scheffler, hometown kid Rory McIlroy, and defending champion Xander Schauffele. But on Thursday morning, Phil Mickelson made some noise at The Open Championship, shooting under par at Royal Portrush. Normal Sport’s Kyle Porter posted a stat showing just how rare that is.
“Phil in his last 10 majors: 1 round under par. Phil today: 1 round under par,” Porter posted.
Mickelson shot one-under 70 in the first round, thanks to a birdie on the 17th hole. He finished the front nine two under, but struggled through the back nine to drop back to even. That birdie on 17 put him back in red numbers, where he finished the day. It is his first round under par at a major since Sunday at the 2023 PGA Championship.
Mickelson was an afterthought coming into The Open Championship, with 400-1 odds to win, according to CBSSports.com. But before the rain really picked up on Thursday, the six-time major champion put together an under-par round. Mickelson has done this once before, coming from out of nowhere to win a major. But a lot has changed since.
Mickelson had not finished in the top 20 of a major since the 2016 Open when the 2021 PGA Championship began. By the end of the week, he had outdueled Brooks Koepka to win his sixth major. No one saw it coming, but the veteran played the elements perfectly at Kiawah Island Golf Club in South Carolina. That tournament started with a two-under par round from Mickelson.
The Open Championship has not been kind to Mickelson in recent years. Since that 2016 duel with Henrik Stenson, he has missed the cut five times in seven attempts. He still has work to do to get into contention at Royal Portrush.
The post Phil Mickelson snaps major funk with surprise Open Championship opening round appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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