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THE 145TH OPEN

July 15, 2016

Phil Mickelson

Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland

PHIL MICKELSON: I wanted to make sure you get to see what it's like, you know. I'm going in there, too. As soon as we get done, I'm going inside where it's warm.

Q. Phil, what is the transition from what happened yesterday to getting ready for this today?
PHIL MICKELSON: First of all, I really enjoy the challenge that this weather and these elements provide. I thought it was a good round to back up the low round yesterday. I played kind of stress-free golf again. I made one or two bad swings that led to bogeys. But for the most part kept the ball in play and played kind of stress-free golf.

One of the things that I've really worked on over the years is getting a ball onto the ground off the tee quickly, so the ground is affecting it more so than the air. That 2-iron that I hit kind of this low shot that just kind of gets on the ground quickly is taking a lot of stress for me away from my tee shots. I feel like if I have to get one in the fairway, I've got a club and a shot that I could do fairly easily and consistently, and that has led to me playing well in the elements today and hopefully in the winds that we'll have tomorrow, being able to keep the ball down and get it the ground.

Q. Yesterday you said the tee shot on 17 was maybe the most pure of the day. Was the bunker shot as hard as it looked? And how big was that shot to get that that close?
PHIL MICKELSON: It was an important one. Unlike yesterday where the pin was right and I had to be left of the hole, the pin was left today and I had to be right of the hole and I pulled it in that bunker. Because the sand was wet, it usually comes out a little bit faster. That made the shot easier because it was such a long bunker shot. Although I didn't have the best stance, it was a little tight. I had to aim fractionally more right of the hole than I wanted to and opened the face to offset that. I hit it up there close and got it up and down. And that was a big momentum keeper, if you will. I needed to make par there.

Q. Are there things about links golf that you understand now that took you years and years of coming over here to fully learn?
PHIL MICKELSON: When I look back on my career early on and not having success here, I think a lot of it was due to the fact that I was fighting the air so much, putting so much spin on the ball, trying to hit it way too hard. Now I feel like I'm able to, again, stress-free, get the ball going down the fairway low and on the ground, and let the hills and the knolls affect it more so than the air, and I don't feel like I'm fighting it off the tee so much. Again, that's been the biggest change for me over the years.

Q. So you're putting in some really good numbers here at Troon in particular. What is it about this golf course in particular that you feel so comfortable with?
PHIL MICKELSON: I think it's very straightforward in front of the greens. You hit good solid shots, the ball ends up where you want it to be. I feel like I can get to tucked pins by carving it a little bit more left to right or right to left into some of these pins, and the bounces will reward those shots. They'll continue the ball working towards the hole rather than having mounds that deflect it off into other areas. I just feel like good shots really get rewarded here more so than other links courses that I've played.

Q. Did you come here, with the way you played your last time, did you come here with kind of a really good vibe about it?
PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, of course I did. This was the first course that I really played effectively links golf in 2004. That's where it really kind of turned for me. This is where it kind of happened. This is where I stopped trying to overpower the golf course, where I kind of accepted playing it as it's designed, if you will, and not trying to find a new, better way to beat the course other than just straightforward golf. That's probably why I love it so much.

Q. (Inaudible).
PHIL MICKELSON: Off-season, I worked with Dave Pelz and a lot of my short irons on taking the spin off the ball, so that I was able to control the spin on my wedges and flight it down lower, and that translated over to links golf because it took spin off the ball for my long shots, too. So that swing style kind of carried over off the tee.

Q. We are only halfway through, if you were to win this thing, you'd be the oldest winner for 150 years at The Open. Having quite a few guys over 40 who have won in recent years, is experience more beneficial to you?
PHIL MICKELSON: I think two things: One, I don't feel the pressure like probably a lot of players do to try to win the Claret Jug because I've already won it, and that takes a lot of pressure off me. The desire to capture that Claret Jug puts a lot of pressure on. The fact I've done it relieves some of that. I would love to add to it, but having already done that was big. Then I lost my train of thought. What was the second thing?

Q. I was wondering what you think about the experience as compared to youth.
PHIL MICKELSON: So the other thing is that I understand the age thing, but the fact is that from ten years ago, when I was playing my best golf, I'm 25 pounds lighter, I'm in better shape, I'm physically stronger than I was. I feel better and I'm playing, now that my swing is back on plane, I'm starting to hit some shots like I did ten years ago and starting to play some of my best golf again. So I don't see why there's any reason why I can't continue that not just this week but for years. That's kind of what the game plan is.

Q. Second day in a row that you've delivered there on the Postage Stamp. Sending a message to the rest of the field?
PHIL MICKELSON: No, I just love that hole. I mean, I'm fortunate to have capitalized on it. It's a hole you've got to be very cautious on, and as the pin gets further back, I'll be more cautious.

I just felt like the conditions were right. I kind of saw the shot the last two days and I got a little bit more aggressive to that pin than is probably smart, but it's paid off.

Q. Do you think the gorse was stopping the ball going in today? You were that close to the hole-in-one.
PHIL MICKELSON: No, I don't think that was it. I just needed a little more sauce on it and it would have gone right in.

Q. Now that you believe in the golf gods, and an American always wins, how do you see that?
PHIL MICKELSON: I think that, again, that's probably due to the gods, and I would expect them to be consistent (smiling).

Q. To matters more serious, I just wonder if what happened in France last night could put professional golfing for money into context, and with Istanbul and France, et cetera.
PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, I just heard about that in the press trailer. I had gotten up and hadn't heard about it. It had just happened. It's awful. We've been having a lot of that going on in the United States, too. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families. It's awful.

Q. Do you think that will prevent American players from traveling more often (inaudible).
PHIL MICKELSON: I haven't thought that far. I don't know.

Q. You had two great rounds in very, very different conditions. Did it help you coming out 11 days earlier or so?
PHIL MICKELSON: It was very helpful to get -- I didn't see any days like yesterday, and to get accustomed to how the air and the wind and the rain affects the ball over here was very important.

I was actually more worried about yesterday's round than I was these coming rounds because I feel very comfortable in the conditions to be able to shoot a number, to shoot a good score. I was worried about guys going low on the beautiful day yesterday and not keeping pace. So yesterday's round was a big round for me to ultimately keep pace or set the pace, but to not lose too much ground because I felt like these coming three days are the days that I'd be best prepared for, days like today.

Q. How many times have you hit that over the last two days (inaudible)?
PHIL MICKELSON: A lot. No, it's really just a specialty club for over here because I use more of a hybrid in the States because the other majors, the greens are so firm and fast I'm trying to bring the ball in higher. Here I'm just trying to get it on the ground. I used it probably over half the tee shots today I would say.

Q. In layman's terms, can you explain the tweak that you and Dave Pelz made in '03?
PHIL MICKELSON: Yes, I was taught growing up to hit the ball low, you scoot the ball back in your stance which delofts the club and that's how you do it. The problem is you come in steeper and create a lot more spin. And even though the ball is flying low, it's spinning. That's what you don't want. So the only difference -- and then you're changing ball position, you're changing angle of attack, you're changing the golf swing. So now the only difference for me is I keep everything the same, ball position, swing, so forth. I just shorten the back swing a little bit, accelerate through. It doesn't have enough speed to create the same spin, comes in from a shallower angle of attack, and gets the ball launching lower without the speed, without the spin.

Q. (Inaudible).
PHIL MICKELSON: Just to keep it on, yeah.

Q. Whose idea was that?
PHIL MICKELSON: I had to do it last week, so, yeah. I know it looks terrible, but it is what it is. I know.

Q. On a day like this at home, would you ever go out and play?
PHIL MICKELSON: All the time, yeah. I would love it because in San Diego we get maybe three days like this a year, and on those days there's nobody on the golf course. So those are my favourite times, yeah.

Q. Do you smell victory the same way (inaudible)?
PHIL MICKELSON: It's a little too far off. We've got a lot of work to do. We're only halfway done with the tournament. So it's too far off to start thinking like that, but certainly there is nothing more that I would love to add another Claret Jug, but I think there is a lot of pressure off me given the fact that I've already got one.

Q. You said it was going to be hard and take a little time to recover from the putt yesterday on 18. Did you watch it at all last night?
PHIL MICKELSON: I did. It finally made sense. It looked like three or four inches short of the hole it hit something and kicked it dead right. I couldn't figure out how it missed. Obviously it hit something, so it happens, unfortunately.

Q. Did it hit a gorse?
PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, well, there wasn't a pebble there before I putted (laughter), so somebody threw it down there. It's not the first time it happened to me actually. At Augusta when I won in 2010, on number 2, one of those things flew right in my line -- anyway (laughter).

Q. What was the ruling of the referee and the dropping?
PHIL MICKELSON: Oh, so my ball moved about an inch or so when I re-marked it. Now once you -- you've got to wait five seconds. The ball is in play, if the ball moves, you play it from there, but it wasn't five seconds. It was like right as I was pulling the coin away, so I had to re-place it back. But I just wanted to clarify with David with me.

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