A Bit of a Struggle, but Back on Track

HOYLAKE, England - Phil Mickelson posted his first below-par score in a major since his spectacular finishing round at last year's British Open, but his two-under 70 at Royal Liverpool was anything but easy.

Playing on a muggy, overcast morning, with winds gusting to 20 miles per hour, Mickelson's round Friday included a missed birdie putt from inside five feet and an out-of-bounds drive.

'I played really well today, but those couple loose shots cost me,' Mickelson said, 'and I ended up giving four or five shots away.'

Mickelson's even-par score of 144 after 36 holes was five strokes off the early pace set by South Africa's George Coetzee, who celebrated his 28th birthday Friday with a score of 69 for a two-round total of 139. In 12 rounds in the majors since his closing 66 at Muirfield, Mickelson is 24 over.

His best score in relation to par before Friday's effort was an even-par 70 at the United States Open. After a bogey on the third hole, Mickelson was tied for 84th and appeared in danger of becoming the third champion in the last decade, after Todd Hamilton in 2005 and Darren Clarke in 2012, to miss the cut the next year.

'I didn't think about the cut much,' said Mickelson, who got his round and tournament back on track with three consecutive 3s (a birdie, eagle, par), starting at the fourth hole.

Mickelson, 44, nearly posted a fourth 3 at par-4 No. 7 after making two of his best swings of the tournament. His 5-iron approach, from 213 yards into a wicked wind, came to rest four feet from the hole. He missed the putt, and his dejection showed as he trudged to the eighth tee.

'It was a terrible putt,' said Mickelson, who has made 94.9 percent of his putts from inside five feet this season. 'I came up and out of it.'

The miss was a momentum killer. Mickelson, who was at even par at the time, had hurdled a mental barrier to get to even. 'Birdie, eagle, par, birdie, I'm under par for the tournament, I've got a hot round going,' Mickelson said, adding, 'Fortunately, I was able to fight back.'

The biggest boost Mickelson got was making a six-footer to salvage par on the 10th after hitting his drive out of bounds. He played the inward side in one under, three shots better than Thursday, to give himself another shot at weekend glory.

'If I can shoot something under par,' Mickelson said, referring to Saturday's round, 'I'll be right in it.'

In his 19 previous British Opens before last year's victory, Mickelson had more missed cuts (four) than top-three finishes (two). Since he came back from five shots off the pace to win, the line of questioning has changed. 'It's 'Can I do it again? Can I get in position again?' ' Mickelson said. 'And I know that this wasn't a great score, but this is as encouraged as I've been since last year's Open Championship.'

In Mickelson's mind, as long as he is hitting the great shots, like his tee shot and approach on 7, the rest will take care of itself. 'I can feel it's about to turn,' said Mickelson, who does not have a top-10 finish in 2014. 'Maybe tomorrow. It could be a week, it could be a month, but it's going to happen.'

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