Mickelson: 'I missed the Open cut with flair'

A second-round 77 brought an end to Phil Mickelson's Open Championship, but he refused to be too downbeat.

Published : Jul 22, 2017 00:33 IST

Phil Mickelson declared he had missed the cut "with flair" after Friday's 77 ended his hopes of making the weekend at The Open.

The five-time major winner, who shot 73 in his opening round, started with a birdie, but a quadruple-bogey seven at the third proved more indicative of the day he was to have in challenging conditions at Royal Birkdale.

Mickelson contested a memorable Sunday with Henrik Stenson at Royal Troon last year as he missed out on a second Claret Jug by three strokes.

But he never got himself in contention this time around and was determined not to let that get him down.

"It's just one of those things where if it starts going bad in these conditions, it's just going to go bad. It's not that big a deal," said the decorated left-hander.

"Unfortunately it's the first cut I've missed this year and I missed it with flair.

"I was surprised because ... I thought Thursday I was prepared. I felt like I was ready. I thought I had a good game plan. I thought my game was sharp. But obviously it wasn't.

"We all go through days like this and it's part of the game. I don't want to put too much stock in it, because I've really been hitting the ball well and playing well.

"So rather than dwell on two rough days here, I'll go back home and get ready for these upcoming events."

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