Phil Mickelson has to be feeling better about his game heading into this week’s British Open.
The two-time Masters champion showed signs of overcoming his slump and recent wrist injury with a 3-under-par 68 in strong wind Saturday for a one-shot lead after three rounds of the Scottish Open in Luss.
Mickelson, playing on the weekend for the first time since winning the Players Championship on May 13, has a 54-hole total of 12-under 201. Gregory Havret of France, a co-leader after two rounds, trails by a shot after a third-round 70.
“The difficult thing about the wind today was that it was a crosswind on a lot of holes,” Mickelson said. “I was fortunate to get the ball in play off the tee. That was the key for me. It made for a much easier round.”
Steve Webster of England shot a 69 and is in third, three strokes behind Mickelson, who had withdrawn from the Memorial and missed the cut at the next two tournaments he played before coming to Loch Lomond for the British Open warm-up. He hadn’t had such a dismal streak since 1995.
Ernie Els finished with a 71 to share sixth place with Jose Manuel Lara and Mikko Ilonen.
Despite the wind, Mickelson managed to hit every fairway except one, the 13th.
“I should have played that more carefully for the stats because I’ve never hit all the fairways,” he said.
PGA Tour: Australian Nathan Green moved a step closer to his first tour victory, shooting a 3-under 68 in the third round of the John Deere Classic and maintaining a one-stroke lead in Silvis, Ill.
LPGA Tour: Se Ri Pak birdied the last hole to maintain a two-shot lead over hard-charging Morgan Pressel in the third round of the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic in Sylvania, Ohio.
Champions Tour: With his drives ricocheting harmlessly off tree after tree, R.W. Eaks had an eagle, a hole-in-one and birdied five of his final 10 holes, smiling all the way en route to a career-low 62 to surge into the second-round lead at the inaugural Dick’s Sporting Goods Open in Endicott, N.Y.
Eaks, a Northern Colorado graduate, was at 11-under 133. That was one shot ahead of Bruce Vaughan (64).
USGA: Colt Knost took an early lead and cruised to the 82nd U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship by beating Cody Paladino 6-and-4 at Cantigny Golf Course in Wheaton, Ill.
Celebrity: Former pitcher Rick Rhoden went birdie, birdie, eagle during one stretch on the way to a 5-under 67 worth 51 points in the modified Stableford scoring system at the 18th annual American Century Celebrity Golf Championship in Stateline, Nev.
