ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — A month ago at Pebble Beach, Phil Mickelson did the nearly unthinkable when he played the first round of the U.S. Open without a birdie. On Thursday, it almost happened again.
Despite benign conditions that didn't worsen until after he made the turn at the Old Course, Mickelson couldn't get a birdie putt to fall until the final hole of a 1-over-par 73. That left him trailing 96 other golfers, in a fight to make the cut with worse weather on the way.
"I fought hard today," Mickelson told ESPN in his only interview. "I drove it poorly … but still salvaged a lot of pars."
Mickelson parred his first 12 holes, took double bogey at No. 13 after losing his ball in some bushes, strung together four more pars and finally birdied the 18th after trying to drive the green.
On the pushover St. Andrews presented Thursday, that's a bogey.
Birdie: Mother Nature. Things got a little squally again late in the day, but after Wednesday's virtual washout and forecasts eyeing a 90 percent chance of rain, the sight of sweaters and shirt sleeves instead of umbrellas and waterproofs was welcome.
Bogey: Padraig Harrington. The two-time Open champion sent his second stroke of the day into the Swilcan Burn, took a double bogey and never really recovered on the way to a 1-over 73. "I did all the superfluous things very well," he said, "and all the important things badly."
Birdie: Steven Tiley. Until Thursday, the English pro was best known for winning last year's Egypt Open. One of the Open's dozen local qualifiers, he crashed the leaderboard with a 66 that left him one shot out of second. "If you're meant to play well here," he said, "you play well."
Bogey: David Duval. The 2001 Open champion and long-ago world No. 1 carded a 77. Considering Thursday's soft, come-get-me conditions, it probably was equivalent to an 82.
Birdie: Pink. Not the singer but the color. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Trevor Immelman and Rickie Fowler all wore shirts in varying hues of pink. Who coordinates their wardrobes, Paula Creamer?