The Loop
Phil Mickelson came THIS close to shooting the first-ever 62 in major championship history
R&A via Getty Images
TROON, Scotland -- The lip-out felt around the coast of Troon was enough to knock Jim (Bones) MacKay to the ground. The putt Phil Mickelson had to shoot a history-making 62 at Royal Troon’s 18th hole on Thursday -- about 18 feet -- couldn’t have been closer to going in.
The speed was on, the read was quite good. It just stayed out on the right side. You need to see it to believe it because Phil and everybody around the 18th green thought they were seeing history.
Nobody would complain about shooting an opening-round eight-under 63 to grab a two-stroke lead at Royal Troon, but when you consider how close somebody came -- again -- to shooting the first-ever 62 in major history.
"That's one of the best rounds I've ever played, yet I want to shed a tear right now," Mickelson said later.
The putt missed in eerily similar fashion to the way he missed the putt at TPC Scottsdale to shoot 59 at the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Either way, the potentially historic moment puts him in a position to do something historic, anyways, this week. He'd become the third-oldest major champion in history (behind Julius Boros at the 1968 PGA at age 48 and Jack Nicklaus at the 46 years old and 2 months). Let's wait and see.