Phil Mickelson’s words came back to haunt him as struggle in Scottish Open first round

PHIL MICKELSON’S words came back to haunt him as he struggled to a first round 76 at the Scottish Open.

The five times Major champion won this event at Castle Stuart in 2013 before adding the Open title a week later, and before teeing off he described it as the perfect gentle warm-up for Troon next week.

Mickelson explained: “It doesn’t beat you up and punish you the way the Open championship does. So you can turn up a week later fresh, and not worn out.”

But the 35mph winds that greeted the American ace and the rest of the late starters meant it was a real battle from start to finish.

Mickleson’s four over par flop was easily his worst score in 12 attempts over the Inverness links, where he has shot seven rounds in the sixties, including a 64, a 65, and two 66s.

But he put a brave face on it, saying: “It was tough out there, but it was fair. And it was fun — I love the challenge of playing in conditions like these.

“The forecast is for plenty of wind at Troon as well, so in that sense it’s good preparation.

“And this course is designed for weather like this — the fairways are generous and you have big greens to aim at.

“I just had a poor putting day and gave away too many shots on the greens. A score around par would have been good in that wind, and if I’d putted half decent I would have shot something close to that.

“We had the rough side of the draw today, but that happens — and who knows, it could turn out to be absolutely horrific for the guys who go out late in the second round.”

Graeme McDowell and Luke Donald were among those to take advantage of the easier conditions early on, shooting two under and one under respectively.

Leaders Scott Hend and Felipe Auguilar both shot three under par 69s in the morning wave.

But double Open champion Padraig Harrington showed it was possible to score well in the worst of the weather, calling on all his experience to shoot a superb two under par 70.