Open crowd make feelings known to Phil Mickelson as LIV Golf star makes Royal Troon return
Phil Mickelson came close to winning The Open Championship at Royal Troon in 2016 after finishing second behind Henrik Stenson, and eight years on he has returned

Phil Mickelson has hailed the reception he has received from The Open Championship crowd this week, having returned to Royal Troon for the final major of the season.

Mickelson infamously more than played his part in one of the great Open battles, losing out to Henrik Stenson back in 2016 at Troon.

Eight years on, the LIV Golf star is back in action around the Ayrshire track for the first time since his runner-up finish, and spoke highly of the Scottish crowd having made the cut on Friday.

“People have been great, yeah,” he commented. “Look, they’re always great out here. They’re always respectful of everybody in the game, and they’ve been respectful to every player, and they were great today, and they’ve been great all week and everywhere.”

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Mickelson booked his spot for the weekend after playing his opening two rounds in five-over-par after rounds of 73 and 74 on Thursday and Friday. Whilst his scoring failed to make him a threat on the leaderboard, the six-time major champion was pleased with his golf game.

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“I’ve played well this week, even though Ihave not scored well. I haven’t saved the shots around the greens that I usually do. I’ve hit a lot of good shots, though. I’ve hit a lot of really good-quality shots and I’ve played some really good golf,” Historically Mickelson’s short game has been the crown jewel in his game.

This week though he admitted his play around the greens is what has let him down. The HyFlyers captain added: “I haven’t scored the way I wanted to because my short game around the greens has not been as sharp as it needs to be to score on this golf course.”

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Phil Mickelson sits at six-over-par after three rounds of The Open Championship (
Image:
Phil Mickelson sits at six-over-par after three rounds of The Open Championship)
On Saturday, the 54-year-old put in his best performance of the tournament, after the testing Scottish links was ever so slightly tamed by a low wind and warmer conditions. Mickelson made five birdies across his third round, including three in his last four holes, in an impressive finish by the LIV member.

One man who did not make the cut was Mickelson’s long-time rival Tiger Woods, whose week ended prematurely on Friday after finishing the second round at 14-over-par for the tournament. Mickelson and Woods have found themselves on opposite sides of the PGA Tour-LIV fallout in recent years.

This week though, things appeared amicable between the pair, after practicing alongside each other on the driving range at Royal Troon. Detailing their reunion, Mickelson said: “We said hi. Yeah, we said hi, but we were both preparing. It’s not like we’re going to sit there and chat.But we said hello, yeah.”

Mickelson was also quizzed on whether he and Woods could help bring back the world of professional golf back together, but played down his involvement in the negotiations. Look, I don’t know about that stuff,” he claimed. “I’m not involved. I’m not sitting in those rooms. I am enjoyingwhere I’m at and what I’m doing and playing. I’ll let other people figure that stuff out.”