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BARCLAYS SCOTTISH OPEN

July 14, 2007

Phil Mickelson

LUSS, SCOTLAND

MICHAEL GIBBONS: Thanks for joining us. Great round today, tougher condition than the first two days. Your thoughts on today and looking ahead to tomorrow.
PHIL MICKELSON: Well, there's a lot of good players right up there on the leaderboard. Ernie is right there, and between him and myself there are a lot of great players.
So tomorrow is going to be a difficult challenge to come out on top. But I'm looking forward to it. I've really enjoyed this tournament in the past. I'm enjoying it very much this year. And today, although the score was same as yesterday's round, I felt like I played better today. I drove the ball very well, and I was able to make a lot of easy pars because I played from the fairway and a couple of birdies here or there. It was a fun round.

Q. Did the wind play a factor?
PHIL MICKELSON: It did. It did blow. And the difficult thing about the wind today was it was a crosswind on a lot of holes, which makes it much more difficult I think than if it were straight down or straight in, much more difficult to judge. And I was fortunate again to get the ball in play off the tee. That was the key for me today. I hit a lot of fairways. I missed one fairway today on 13 just trying to go for it for with a 3-wood and I missed it in the hazard.
Because I was in play off the tee, it made for a much easier round.

Q. You're playing well and driving well, still some spectacular saves -- talk about the shots on 3 out of the water.
PHIL MICKELSON: Yesterday, I hit the ball on 3 in the same spot. I hit it into the bank. It just missed carrying and then it rolled back into the water and then yesterday I just got it out and was able to get up-and-down from there to make 5.
Then today, after having judged that lie from yesterday, I was able to improve on it and get it up-and-down.

Q. How much of the ball could you see?
PHIL MICKELSON: Just over half of the ball was buried or submerged.

Q. You said on television you've been hitting low drives; is that for next week?
PHIL MICKELSON: It is but when I get crosswinds it prevents it from getting up in the air and going way off-line, so it's minimising my misses which is which I'm trying to keep it down. It was a great opportunity for me to put it to the test today. I was pleased with some of the shots that I hit.

Q. How is the wrist feeling?
PHIL MICKELSON: It's all right. It's a little sore but it's okay. It shouldn't be a problem.

Q. The bookies here are saying we should give you the trophy just now - you are 3 to 1 on?
PHIL MICKELSON: Well, if Mr. Anderson, the owner here is game, I certainly don't have a problem with it. But there's quite a few players that are right there that have something else to say about that.

Q. What would winning this tournament mean?
PHIL MICKELSON: Winning this tournament would mean a lot to me because I have not played as well out of the United States as I would have liked, and especially in Scotland the home of golf. It would mean a lot to have a championship from here; that would really be something special. I just think that it would be really cool. But there again, there's a lot of work to do before that happens. There's a lot of great players tomorrow and I'm going to have to play a very good round to have a chance.

Q. What do you remember about the playing in France at the Challenge Tour event?
PHIL MICKELSON: I remember playing with Steve Elkington the last couple of rounds and making up a lot of ground on the last day or two, and it was fun. But I have not -- again, I haven't played at a level of golf that I expect to or that I feel I do in the States outside of the states. And so it would be a great accomplishment for me to be able to put together a good round tomorrow and come out on tomorrow. Again, I can't take that for granted because there's just so many good players right there.

Q. What did you hit on seven?
PHIL MICKELSON: 7, I hit a driver and 8-iron to 15 feet -- oh, that's 6 you're thinking of.
6, I hit a driver, 3-wood and 9-iron about 30 feet behind the hole. It was playing a little longer and the wind started cornering back in.

Q. Any thoughts on the drought of Europeans winning a major, and your own chances having not played as much in Europe?
PHIL MICKELSON: I don't know. I don't have an explanation because there are so many good players from Europe that it's as surprising to me as it is to everyone else.
As far as why I have to the played as well outside of the U.S., I'm not sure. I guess I haven't given myself as many chances as I probably should, given that it's hard for me to travel with my family outside of the U.S. with three young kids at 8, 5 and 4.
But as our children get older, I'm looking forward to travelling and playing more abroad because I want them to experience a lot of great things and cultures from different parts of the world, that we try to do in the different cities in the United States. I would love for them to come here. I think that they would really learn a lot from the culture and seeing some of the great Scottish castles and some of the beautiful land; as well as the pond over here on 13, my girls love to fish, so we would go do that, too.
There's a lot of fun things to do over here. I want to also bring them over here because after the British Open, I'd like to go to different part of Europe and let them experience some of the great beauties of the world over here that they haven't been exposed to yet.
But they need to be a little bit older for them to understand and appreciate it.

Q. What about next week, will they come?
PHIL MICKELSON: My wife is but not our kids, no.

Q. What were the circumstances you were playing in that Challenge Tour event?
PHIL MICKELSON: That was 14 years ago. I don't have a great memory for that.

Q. Was it very unusual to be playing in that particular event?
PHIL MICKELSON: I think we both know. I don't think we need to say it.

Q. Any key shot this week that will help you next week?
PHIL MICKELSON: I wouldn't say one particular shot. I would just say the driving in general, being able to control the ball and keep it down, keep it out of the wind and keep it in play. That was what was most exciting. Now, the fairways here are a lit bit wider and softer than what we'll have next week at Carnoustie. So the same drives that I hit here won't necessarily find the fairway over there, but they will stay in play and that's the key.

Q. Have you really never hit every green in regulation in a round?
PHIL MICKELSON: I can't remember ever doing that and I kind of -- Bones wanted me to lay up on 13 because there's that bowl and he just felt like it was an easy wedge shot. And now that I've hit all of the others, I'm kind of kicking myself; I could have had a first.

Q. Is this as well as you have played and felt before The Open?
PHIL MICKELSON: I felt very confident in '04 when I made a good run and ended up falling a shot shy of the playoff.
But I think that for me to really feel confident heading into the British Open, I think I need to put together a good round tomorrow. I think that will build my confidence, if I'm able to get in contention and perform. I think that would be the best way for me to get ready and feel good about my game.
MICHAEL GIBBONS: Phil, thanks very much.

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