july15 mickleads

Phil Mickelson showed his class as he closed in on the Scottish Open title yesterday (Saturday).

The three-times Major-winner shot a 68 at Loch Lomond to lead by one stroke at 12 under. Frenchman Grégory Havret is on 11 under.

Mickelson coped with windy conditions well as he proved that he can play no matter what the weather. This could be vital when he tackles The Open at Carnoustie next week.

England’s Phillip Archer stormed through the field to end up tied fourth. He added a 69 to his earlier rounds of 68s.

But it was Mickelson who amazed the 18,000 fans. His power and poise shone through as he built a solid score in the worst of the day’s conditions. He said: “Although the score was same as yesterday’s round, I felt like I played better today.” 

“I drove the ball very well, and I was able to make a lot of easy pars because I played from the fairway and a couple of birdies here or there.  It was a fun round. Tomorrow is going to be a difficult challenge to come out on top.  But I’m looking forward to it.  I’ve really enjoyed this tournament in the past.  I’m enjoying it very much this year.”

Mickelson is clearly loving every minute of his time in Scotland and is hoping that he can close out victory on Sunday afternoon to improve his winning record outside of the USA. The 38 year old also revealed that he hopes to play outside of his homeland more often in years to come.

“I’m not sure why I haven’t played as well outside the U.S.  I guess I haven’t given myself as many chances as I probably should, given that it’s hard for me to travel with my family outside of the U.S. with three young kids aged eight, five and four.

“But as our children get older, I’m looking forward to traveling and playing more abroad because I want them to experience a lot of great things and cultures from different parts of the world, that we try to do in the different cities in the United States.  I would love for them to come here.  I think that they would really learn a lot from the culture and seeing some of the great Scottish castles and some of the beautiful land; as well as the pond over here on 13, my girls love to fish, so we would go do that, too.

“I want to also bring them over here because after the British Open, I’d like to go to different part of Europe and let them experience some of the great beauties of the world over here that they haven’t been exposed to yet, but they need to be a little bit older for them to understand and appreciate it.”

While Mickelson has been installed as the clear favourite to land the Barclays Scottish Open title, Havret is hoping to banish the memory of a disappointing final round at Loch Lomond three years ago when his countryman Thomas Levet took the title.

“I was very disappointed in 2004 because, of course, when you are leading a tournament as big as Loch Lomond you want to win so much because I really love this tournament, it’s just an awesome place, an awesome week for us.”