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ONE of the more outrageous birdies of his career . . . and there have been an awful lot of them . . . propelled Phil Mickelson into the lead in the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond. The world number three, chasing his first solo victory on European soil since 1993 and the perfect boost leading into the Open at Carnoustie, resumed one behind France's Gregory Havret and Spaniard Jose Manuel Lara and that gap looked set to grow when he hit his approach to the 518yard third into the edge of the pond right of the green.
But on arriving at the spot Mickelson saw a chance to splash the ball out, so put on his waterproofs and without any undue delay . . . he did not fancy the idea of sinking without trace . . . swung and was delighted to see the ball finish 10 feet from the flag.
Holing the putt for a birdie four was purely a bonus, but it lifted him to 10 under and alongside not only Havret and Lara, but also Finland's former British amateur champion Mikko Ilonen.Lara did then grab a two-stroke lead with birdies at the third and fourth, but while he bogeyed the next two holes in the strengthening wind Mickelson picked up further shots on the seventh and ninth.
Meanwhile, world number five Ernie Els, twice a winner of the title, reached nine under by chipping in at the third, only to take two in a bunker on the short fifth and then bogeyed the 625-yard sixth and 11th as well.
Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell also showed that low scoring was again possible by posting a 67 for a five under total. McDowell is looking forward to Carnoustie after the experience of leading the Open at Hoylake last year with his opening 66.
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YOU ARE HERE: 11 November 2007 / tribune.ie / 2007 / 07 / 15
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