Troon leader Phil Mickelson juggles bittersweet loss of fabled 62
— -- TROON, Scotland -- As Phil Mickelson settled in Thursday evening at the Marine Hotel, which overlooks the Firth of Clyde, Troon's Old Course and the town itself, you wonder whether he enjoyed the accomplishment of his day's work or lamented what was lost.
A historic record eluded him by the precarious roll of a golf ball, and, as impressive as shooting 62 would be, it in no way guaranteed winning the 145th Open. Sure, every shot counts, every one knocked off helps, but it was the first day of four, one shot out of roughly 270-plus.
Yet there was no denying the sense of disbelief and disappointment after Mickelson's attempt to become the first player in the history of major championship golf to shoot 62 somehow stayed out of the cup.
The round was about as rare as the brilliant sunshine and balmy temperatures that soaked the Ayrshire coast for the first day of the year's third major.
"It was one of the best rounds that I've played," said Mickelson of his opening 63, the 28th in major history and just the ninth in Open history. "And I was able to take advantage of these conditions, and yet I want to shed a tear right now.
"That putt on 18 was an opportunity to do something historical. I knew, and, with a foot to go, I thought I had done it. I saw the ball rolling right in the center. I went to get it, I had that surge of adrenaline that I had just shot 62, and then I had the heartbreak that I didn't and watched the ball lip out.
"It was, wow, that stings."
Enough to derail his chances of winning The Open?
It's fair to have doubts after listening to Mickelson mourn the opportunity lost. After hitting his approach at the par-4 18th, he had a 16-footer for his ninth birdie of the day, one that would give him a 62 on the par-71 course that has never seen such a score in eight previous Opens.
No major championship venue has seen such a score. Johnny Miller shot the first 63 at the 1973 U.S. Open, a final-round feat that many believe is the best round in the history of the game. It helped him rally to win the tournament. Mickelson's 63 was just the 27th since that day 43 years ago at Oakmont. But he wanted to go one lower.
"The ball was hunting right in the center and didn't go," Mickelson said. "It was just heartbreaking."
Mickelson said the 63 wasn't better than his final-round 66 at Muirfield three years ago to win The Open, his fifth major title. He has not won a tournament since and, at age 46, might not win many more. A tournament title here would make him the second-oldest Open champion, barely, to Tom Morris Sr. who won his fourth Open in 1867 at Prestwick -- next door to Troon -- when the field consisted of just 10 players and was contested over just 36 holes.
But you could argue that it was just as good as that round in 2013. Mickelson hit 16 of 18 greens. He didn't make a bogey for just the third time in 81 Open rounds -- the other two coming at Troon in 2004. And he made eight birdies, with just 26 putts.
On the treacherous back nine, where most of the field regressed, Mickelson shot 31.
"It was good stuff," said Ernie Els, who played with Mickelson. "Geez, that was as good a links round of golf as I've seen. He was in total control. Real patient. Managed himself wonderfully. He loves to hit that driver, and he stayed away from that. He managed himself around the course. Obviously the weather helped, but you've got to hit the shots, make the putts.
"I just feel for him. On 18, I was so sure he was going to make the putt. To shoot 62, you couldn't hit a better putt. That thing is going right to left all the way; it's incredible how that thing stayed out."
Els was rooting hard for his longtime rival. As they walked down the 18th fairway, he tried to pump up Mickelson, both knowing what was at stake. Then, in a nice act of sportsmanship, Els putted out before Mickelson, even though Lefty was away.
"I wanted to let him have the stage," Els said. "I wanted him to take his time, make some history. He hit the best putt he could. Incredible it didn't go in."
While Mickelson grabbed his head and smiled, incredulously, his longtime caddie, Jim "Bones" Mackay fell to the ground, rolling backward with his legs back over his head.
Mackay had a similar reaction when Mickelson missed out on a different kind of history at the 2013 Waste Management Phoenix Open. Also on the opening day, Mickelson had a putt for 59 -- there have been just six in PGA Tour history -- and also saw it lip out.
But he went on to win the tournament.
Will he do so here?
First, despite playing so artfully, he's going to have to... well... get over it.
"This one's going to stay with me for a while because of the historical element of the major championships," Mickelson said. "There's a lot of guys who have shot 63, but nobody has shot that 62. That would have been something special. I'm just not going to have opportunities like that to do that. So to have that putt lip out, that's going to sting for a while."
Then there is the matter of bouncing back from a great round. It is never easy to put them together.
"You start expectations running through your head, and that's the one thing that I'll have to try to suppress and hold off," he said. "We have three more rounds. We'll have varying conditions. It's going to be very difficult. Changing conditions, different winds. Hopefully I've prepared myself well enough to tackle this golf course under those conditions and shoot a good number tomorrow."
Mickelson has a 3-shot lead over Patrick Reed and Martin Kaymer with an early Friday tee time and bad weather expected to roll in for the weekend. Despite missing cuts at both the previous major championships this year, Mickelson has played some of the best golf post-Muirfield in 2016 after a shakeup in the offseason that saw him switch swing coaches.
The big prize, of course, is the tournament, not the scoring record. A 62 might have been huge, but it would not have mattered nearly as much without going on to win.
And imagine how historic that would be? He would be the fourth-oldest winner, ever, in any of the major championships.
Perhaps Phil was best served to spend some time with Ernie, who tried to root him on to the record and knows just how well he played, regardless.
"It was beautiful," Els said.
Related Stories
ABC News Live