Phil Mickelson followed his stunning opening round with a solid 69 in miserable weather conditions at Royal Troon on Friday to lead the British Open at 10 under par. The American had led overnight after equalling the lowest ever round in a major championship when he shot 63 in glorious conditions on Thursday afternoon.
He was back out early on Friday morning and this time had to deal with the wind and, above all, rain that left the players and the course on Scotland's west coast sodden. But he still thrived, with three bogeys on the front nine, including at the short eighth, the Postage Stamp, when he almost holed his tee shot. He also birdied the short 14th, although there was a dropped shot - his first of the week - at the 12th and another bogey at 15 that brought him back a little closer to the pack.
"I thought it was a good round to back up the low round yesterday. I made one or two bad swings that led to bogeys but for the most part I kept the ball in play and played stress-free golf," said the American, who won the Open at Muirfield in 2013 and admitted he enjoyed the unpleasant conditions that can constitute a Scottish summer. "I was actually more worried about yesterday's round than I was about these coming rounds because I feel very comfortable in the conditions to be able to shoot a number, shoot a good score. "I was worried about guys going low on the beautiful day and then not keeping pace, so yesterday's round was a big round for me to ultimately set the pace, and not lose too much ground, because I felt like I'd be best prepared for days like today." As it is Mickelson leads in the clubhouse by one shot from Henrik Stenson after the Swede produced a stunning second-round 65 to go to nine-under overall.