Portrush: Phil and a five-way tie for the lead

So the Open—the British Open, if you will—lurched into the second round Friday with a leader board that resembled a roll call at the United Nations and a man in contention who had all but disappeared the last few years.

That would be our old (emphasize old) friend, Phil Mickelson, who is 55, and shot 70, which was 1-under par Thursday at Royal Portrush.

Five players were tied for first at 67, Jacob Olesen (Denmark), Haotong Li (China), Matt Fitzpatrick (England), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (South Africa), and Harris English (USA).

The betting favorite, Scottie Scheffler, is very much in contention after a 68, and with three rounds remaining, Rory McIlroy certainly isn’t out of it at 70.  

If there were surprises for this Open at Northern Ireland, the weather certainly wasn’t one of them. A day that started with sunshine breaking through the overcast had periods of rain and enough wind to blow ill-struck balls every which way.

It also had a guy not long out of prison. Ryan Peake of Australia, who spent five years behind bars for assault, was paired with Mickelson and asked Phil for his autograph after shooting a 77.

Li, one of those tied for first, became infamous a few years ago when he threw his putter into a pond at the French Open, and his mother waded into the water to retrieve it. There was no reason to get angry with any of the clubs he utilized Thursday, especially the putter. He got around Portrush testing Dunluce Links without a bogey. As did Justin Rose.

Mickelson became the oldest player to win a major, when at age 50, he took the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. He was one of the very early starters Thursday in this Open. He showed his famous short game brilliance quickly, holing a shot out of a greenside bunker on the par-3 third, after failing to get out on the previous swing.

“That was a crazy one,” said Mickelson. “To make it, it was obviously a lot of luck. I was just trying to save bogey, and I got lucky and it went in.” 

Scheffler, number one in the world rankings, hasn’t as much been lucky as determined and consistent. He’s won two different majors, the Masters (twice) and the PGA Championship. He hit only three fairways Thursday at Portrush, yet he’s only one shot behind.

“I actually thought I drove it pretty well,” said Scheffler, seemingly irritated about questions about his accuracy. 

“When it’s raining sideways,” sighs Scheffler, “believe it or not, it’s not that easy to get the ball in the fairway.”  

“Really only had one swing I wasn’t too happy with on the second hole,” he said. “But outside that, I felt like I hit a lot of good tee shots, hit the ball really solid, so definitely a good bit of confidence for the next couple of rounds. 

Confidence is necessary, along with a great swing and maybe a few breaks. Particularly at the Open.