Phil Mickelson, following his 2-under-par 70 Friday, stands at even par, but is 12 shots out of Rory McIlroy’s lead in pursuit of defending his title.
“It’s really close,’’ Mickelson said of his game after posting his first sub-par round in a major championship since his Open Championship win a year ago at Muirfield. “It’s really close to being good. I’m striking it so good. If I putt the way I putted the last nine holes for the weekend, I’m going to have a good chance.’’
He said “if the wind stays up’’ he feels like he “absolutely’’ has a chance to repeat as champion. The weather forecast is calling for heavy rain and wind for Saturday’s third round.
“[On Saturday], when the conditions come in, there’s going to be a lot of scores that go 5-, 6-, 7-over par,’’ Mickelson said. “If I can shoot something under par, I’ll be right in it for Sunday.’’
John Singleton, the local factory worker who qualified for The Open, finished his magical week in style, shooting a 2-under par 70 on Friday, but missed the cut by two shots because his opening-round 78. He finished with birdies on three of his last four holes, including No. 18.
“I was able to switch it on there the last five, six holes,’’ he said. “I was a lot more relaxed than [Thursday]. My goal was to be 2-under today. I can walk away very proud. Obviously the goal was to make the cut, and I probably left myself with too much after [Thursday].’’
What now?
“I don’t know,’’ he said. “I just want to get out of here after a little while, and just relax and take stock, really. I think I’m going to take about a week off. I don’t know. I haven’t really thought. I just walked off and finished off an emotional roller coaster. So I think I have to come down from that and I’ll see what happens.“I don’t know if I’m going to go back to work on Monday or not. If I do, then, no. I don’t know what’s around the corner. I’ll just take a few days and try and sort out my future.’’
George Coetzee gave himself quite a birthday gift, getting into contention with a 3-under-par 69 in his second round. He is 5-under for the tournament.
“This is definitely my favorite major,’’ Coetzee said. “It’s always going to be my birthday week. It’s nice to play well, obviously, in a very prestigious event. And to have my birthday coincide with it is also nice.’’
If there was a medal for most improved score from the first to second round, Bryden MacPherson would get it. The Australian shot 10 shots lower Friday than he did Thursday. That was the good news. The bad news: He shot 80 on Friday after a 90 on Thursday to finish 26-over par and miss the cut by a continent.
“Well, [Friday] was better,’’ MacPherson said. “I actually hit the ball in play. I enjoyed every moment of it, as much as you could. You go out there and you try and take in the experience for what it is, instead of what you want it to be.
“This is my second Open. First major as a pro, first Open as a pro. It’s major golf. So I think if you don’t enjoy it then you shouldn’t be playing it as a living.’’
When it was pointed out that fellow Aussie Ian Baker-Finch essentially retired from playing after shooting a score in the 90s at the 2001 British Open at Birkdale, MacPherson said: “He’d already won a British Open, so he had a little more grandstanding than me. It would be a little weird for me to retire, I think. I think it’s just character building, that’s all it is.’’
Gary Woodland was one of the few players in the morning wave to post a score in the red, shooting a 4-under-par 68 to get to even par for the tournament.
“It was nice to get back in it,’’ Woodland said. “I played better [Thursday] than I scored, which was frustrating. I got off to a good start. [I] got a couple of putts to go in there, made an eagle on 5 and made another putt on 6. It was nice to get low early.’’