Phil Mickelson fires an angry tirade at photographers on the 18th at Royal Troon
By Keith Jackson at Royal Troon
Last Updated: 16/07/16 8:55pm
Phil Mickelson aimed a furious outburst at photographers on the fairway on the final hole of his third round at The 145th Open.
Mickelson parted from his usual calm demeanour after blocking his second shot into a pot bunker short and left of the green, and he felt one of the vast array of photographers behind him had clicked their shutter on his backswing.
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The veteran American remonstrated with the group and could not contain his anger, or his language, before trudging disconsolately towards the green.
To his credit, Mickelson regained his composure on the walk and played a near-perfect splash-out from the trap before rolling in the par putt to return a 70 and close one shot behind playing partner Henrik Stenson.
Mickelson did not discuss the incident in his post-round interview, although he did admit to battling with his swing throughout the day, which could have been a factor in his final-hole frustration.
"I was off today, I didn't have my best stuff," said the 2013 champion. "My rhythm was a little quick from the top as we started downwind. I was a little bit jumpy and my rhythm wasn't very good.
"I found a way to kind of settle in and hit some shots and then find ways to make pars on the times that I hit some poor shots.
"Today [Saturday] could have been a day that got away from me, instead I shot under par and kept myself right in heading into tomorrow's final round, so I'm proud of that. Andrew Getson and I have some work to do to get my swing back to where it was the first couple of days.
"The game of golf - it just comes and goes, but the most important thing is to find a way to get the ball in the hole, and that's what I did. I found a way to get the ball in the hole, make pars, and that's all that I really care about.
Some days it's easy and it looks pretty like the first couple. Some days it's hard and it looks terrible, like it did today. But either way I shot three rounds under par, and I'd love to play the final round the way I did the first two and give myself a shot."
Watch the video at the top of the page to see Mickelson take issue with photographers on the 18th at Royal Troon, and don't miss final-round coverage of The 145th Open - live from 7:30am on Sky Sports The Open.
