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CNA
3 hours ago
- Sport
- CNA
Mickelson rolls back years with early magic at Portrush
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland :Former Open champion Phil Mickelson served up some of the old magic as the American veteran opened with an impressive one-under 70 at rain-hit Royal Portrush on Thursday. The 55-year-old six-time major winner who lifted the Claret Jug at Muirfield in 2013, briefly threatened the top of the early leaderboard as he rolled back the years. After a birdie at the par-five second hole, Mickelson then had the galleries in raptures as he holed a miraculous bunker shot for par on the third, the ball having plugged in the sand. "That was a crazy one," the left-handed Mickelson, whose trademark short game remains undiminished, said. "That bunker shot that buried in the lip, and then to make it, it was obviously a lot of luck. It was crazy. I was trying to save bogey, and I got lucky and it went in. I really hit a lot of good shots today, and it wasn't too stressful." Mickelson, who plays on the LIV Golf Tour, has missed five cuts in his last seven Open appearances but says he still loves the challenge thrown up by British links courses. "I played really well, and I had an opportunity. Like I really enjoy playing these conditions and playing this tournament. It's just a lot of fun," he said. Mickelson managed to miss the worst of the rain that soaked the later starters and after a couple of bogeys on the back nine he holed a 20-foot putt on the 17th to get back under par. He missed the cut at Portrush six years ago but said the par-71 layout on the County Antrim coast is a fair test. "It seems to be consistent with the degree of how good or bad you hit it," he said. "Like if you hit a really good shot, it gets really rewarded. "If you hit a really bad shot, it gets in a really bad spot, as opposed to getting away with really bad shots and get lucky. "It seems like it penalises it to the degree which it should." Mickelson fared better than two-time Open champion Padraig Harrington as the 53-year-old, who had the honour of hitting the first tee shot, went round in four-over 75 despite making one of the few birdies on the tough opening hole. The Irishman said he was not surprised that the likes of Mickelson, and England's 52-year-old Lee Westwood who carded a two-under 69, were doing well, suggesting the new age limit of 55 for exemptions for former champions, from 2024, is harsh. "We are getting younger at that stage. The older golfers are much more capable now," he said. "I think I've been training with a physio full-time for close to 27 years now, that's why players are extending their careers. Look at the player facilities this week. There's ice baths and saunas and all sorts of things. "There's no physical barrier for me hitting shots and competing."


The Guardian
a day ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Max Faulkner and ‘the greatest shot': the story of Portrush's first Open champion
'Max Faulkner. Open champion 1951'. Faulkner signed those words for a young fan who had offered up a golf ball en route to the first tee of the final round at Royal Portrush. He regretted it almost immediately. While he held a commanding six-shot lead before the 1951 Open's last 18 holes, there now existed an embarrassing piece of evidence should he fail to deliver. Fortunately for Faulkner, despite an errant drive on the 1st hole, he went on to fulfil his prophecy by two strokes. It would take 18 years before another English golfer, Tony Jacklin, hoisted the Claret Jug. As the Open returns to Northern Ireland for the third time at Portrush, many will have fond memories of Shane Lowry's emotional victory in 2019. Yet fewer will recall Faulkner's improbable triumph during a vastly different era, one without rangefinders and swing analysis, when golfers had to rely on intuition and experience to conquer Portrush. 'The Open is one tournament you can't win suddenly from out of the blue: you have to get a taste for it,' wrote Faulkner, who died in 2005 aged 88. He was no stranger to Portrush, having come third in the Irish Open on his 21st birthday at the same venue. To tackle the super-quick greens, described by Faulkner as 'the fastest he had ever seen for an Open Championship', he pivoted to a pencil-slim putter weighing just 11 ounces (312g). Before the tournament, three-time Open champion Henry Cotton had snapped a picture of Faulkner, then 34, arms aloft, explaining to American amateur Frank Stranahan and England's Ken Bousfield how he would win the tournament. They are laughing, for good reason. Two-time defending champion Bobby Locke, who would finish tied-sixth, was undoubtedly the favourite. Cotton and 1947 winner Fred Daly were also among the 98-strong field. Not to mention that Faulkner had admitted to playing 'rubbish' golf prior to the event. There was a sense of conviction in his words though. 'I'll show them this time,' he told his wife, Joan. A fairly average opening round of 71 on Wednesday meant he started three shots adrift. But when his competitors faltered facing Thursday's windy conditions, Faulkner stood firm and carded a respectable 70, earning him a two-shot lead. The razor-thin putter had brought results, needing just 27 and 24 putts, respectively. The final 36 holes of the Open were played on the same day that year. He scored another 70 on Friday morning to increase his lead to six, over Argentinian Antonio Cerdá, thanks to a shot described by playing partner Stranahan as 'the greatest shot I've ever seen'. After a wayward drive on Babington's, then the par-four 16th (No 18 today), Faulkner found his ball next to a barbed-wire fence. 'I thought there was just a chance if I lifted the club up steeply enough to miss the stile, deliberately sliced the shot and lifted the club up immediately after impact to avoid tearing my hands on the barbed wire,' he wrote. Faulkner executed it just like he had imagined, hitting a ridiculous slice with his four-wood which found the green, to save par. The afternoon began with a sense of foreboding after he signed the young boy's ball and felt jitters from the 1st tee. Faulkner, whose lead had been significantly reduced by the time he reached the 18th, recalled: 'My knees were a bit shaky as I bent down and I had some trouble getting the ball on the tee.' Still, he smoked his final drive down the fairway and a crowd had gathered around his ball. This was a time before tournaments began roping off holes, when besides dealing with the pressure of the moment, golfers had to be mindful not to lose a shoe amid the encroaching spectators. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion A marker stood over Faulkner's ball and cleared a space for his crucial approach shot. After pulling out his trusty four-wood, an old friend, Jimmy Adams, hissed loudly at him, trying to tell him he was overclubbing by some distance. There was no hiding behind overzealous marshals, desperately waving 'quiet please' paddles back and forth over their heads as if their lives depended on it. He shanked his approach, which fortuitously stayed in play after ricocheting off a spectator's chest, nestling in long grass on a slope. Miraculously, Faulkner found the green with a superb recovery shot and two-putted for bogey. He signed for a 74, but without giant scoreboards to indicate how his competitors were faring, he didn't know if it was enough. It took another hour before a messenger rushed forward with good news. 'Tony Cerdá's taken six. It's your Open.' Faulkner's 285 total at Portrush, the sixth-worst winning score since 1946, will most certainly not be enough to win there in 2025. But his confidence and fearless approach, on one of the toughest links courses, remain relevant 74 years later.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Xander Schauffele trying to ‘piece way back' ahead of Open defence
Defending Open champion Xander Schauffele admits it was humbling to see the 'perfect storm' which brought him two majors in three months last summer disappear. A year ago the 31-year-old added the Claret Jug to his US PGA title in a stellar season which also brought 13 other top-10 finishes. Advertisement However, a rib injury in December restricted him to just one appearance in the first three months of this year and any hope he had of continuing his momentum was lost. Defending Open champion Xander Schauffele has had a humbling year so far (Peter Byrne/PA) 'Going from on top of the moon to, you know, knocked off completely, it's a humbling thing for sure,' Schauffele told the PA news agency at an event for sponsors Callaway in Portrush's famous Harbour Bar. 'Winning my first major, getting the monkey off my back, came at a perfect time – if you want to, call it a perfect storm. 'Feeling completely free and playing unbelievable golf, it's a pretty dangerous thing so I felt like I was riding that wave. Advertisement 'So I'm just trying to piece my way back, gain a little bit of confidence each and every week with each and every shot to be honest.' His confidence received a boost with only his second top-10 finish in 12 events at last week's Scottish Open. Performing well on a links course was ideal preparation for the defence of the Claret Jug he won at Troon, but the American does not really view it in that manner. 'It's a strange thing to defend when the venue changes. When I handed over the Claret Jug on Monday morning it felt like a defence, but when I'm on the property I'm not remembering the shots I hit when I won,' added Schauffele. Advertisement 'I'm trying to relearn the course, learn how far the ball's going, what the winds are doing, what bunkers you can and can't hit it in. So it's a weird thing.' What does not change, however, is the fact he has two majors under his belt to give him valuable experience. He said: 'I don't think it hurts. I think it's one of those things where, if I can get myself in a position, I've done it twice now. There'll be a pack of guys who have done it more than that and then there'll be a pack of guys who've never done it. 'So it'll give me a slight advantage in that moment, but we're far away from that and I'm trying to focus on some small things to start. Advertisement 'My advantage will be if I can put myself in a good position come the weekend.'


BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Two-time champion Harrington to hit opening tee shot
Two-time Open champion Padraig Harrington will hit the opening tee shot at this year's tournament at Royal Portrush. The 53-year-old Irishman, who clinched back-to-back Claret Jugs in 2007 and 2008, will open play at 06:30 BST on Thursday. Harrington won his first Open title at Carnoustie in 2007, beating Sergio Garcia in a dramatic play-off after starting the final round six shots back. He successfully defended in horrendous conditions at Royal Birkdale 12 months later, carding an impressive closing 69 to finish four shots clear of England's Ian who also held off Garcia to win the 2008 US PGA Championship, missed the cut at the 2019 Open at Royal Portrush.


BBC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Watch: Darren Clarke's Guide to Portrush
Ahead of this week's tournament, BBC Sport NI got some exclusive access to Royal Portrush with none other than 2011 Open Champion Darren gave Stephen Watson a tour of the course and a guide to how to play, and possible win, at can watch the film here on the BBC iPlayer right now.