Bettors shun Phil Mickelson, then watch him soar at British Open

By MATT YOUMANS LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

8 years ago

British Open – Phil Mickelson of the U.S. reacts after a missed birdie putt on the 18th green during the first round – Royal Troon, Scotland, Britain – 14/07/2016. (Craig Brough/Reuters)

Golf – British Open – Phil Mickelson of the U.S. reacts after a missed birdie putt on the 18th green during the first round – Royal Troon, Scotland, Britain – 14/07/2016. (Craig Brough/Reuters)

Phil Mickelson of the United States , left talks to his caddie Jim McKay on the 18th green as they look at his putt during the first round of the British Open Golf Championships at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland, Thursday, July 14, 2016. (Matt Dunham/Associated Press)

It’s not a Cinderella story, and he’s not a former greenskeeper, but Phil Mickelson did sort of come out of nowhere Thursday to put on a show worthy of a movie. In the end, in classic “Lefty” style, there was heartbreak.

The first round of the British Open was bizarre from the start. The west coast of Scotland resembled Palm Springs, with sunny skies, little wind and no rain.

“I’ve never seen better weather for a British Open,” Westgate golf oddsmaker Jeff Sherman said.

And rarely have we seen Mickelson play better. At 46, after missing the cut at the Masters and U.S. Open this year, he turned back the clock at Royal Troon Golf Club by shooting an 8-under-par 63. He was one putt from becoming the first player in history to shoot 62 in a major.

His 16-foot birdie attempt on the 18th hole spun around and out. It was fitting. A five-time major winner, Mickelson has a career full of near misses and teases. He’s always a popular story, on and off the links.

“Mickelson couldn’t play any better,” said Brian Blessing, a Las Vegas radio host and handicapper. “But you know how hard it is to follow up a great round. If you listened to his interview, he was heartbroken.”

In this season’s first two majors, the betting public piled on the Mickelson bandwagon and went broke. But this week, he was mostly ignored at 30-1 odds. If he’s the winner on Sunday, many of his followers will be missing out on the surprising ride.

“This is unlike other majors where Phil is one of the most supported players,” Sherman said.

The five most supported golfers on the Westgate futures board — in order of money wagered — were Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia.

Sherman said the Westgate took a $6,250 bet to win $50,000 on Day at 8-1 odds. He closed as the 7-1 favorite, and the world’s No. 1-ranked player finished the day with a 2-over 73. Day is not out of it, but he’s tied for 94th in a field of 156, so he’s not yet in it, either.

Spieth and Johnson shot par on a day when scoring conditions were ideal. Scott carded a respectable 2-under 69, and Garcia shot a 68 that could have been better. The greens were soft and flat, perfect for putting, yet Garcia and Johnson did not take advantage.

Louis Oosthuizen hit the shot of the day, an ace on the par-3 14th that cashed the hole-in-one proposition (Yes minus-140), but he failed to break par.

Eight of the top 11 players after the first round are Americans. Patrick Reed is three shots behind Mickelson, and reigning British Open champ Zach Johnson is four back. Reed and Johnson each closed at 50-1.

A couple of semi-popular foreign long shots — Germany’s Martin Kaymer (40-1) and England’s Andy Sullivan (60-1) — are lurking near the top of the leaderboard.

I bought tickets on Kaymer, Scott and Rory McIlroy, who broke par on an otherwise disappointing day for the big four favorites. Day dropped to 30-1, and Dustin Johnson and Spieth fell to 20-1 when Sherman posted adjusted odds Thursday afternoon.

Mickelson became the new favorite at 4-1 odds, but it’s doubtful he’s going to run away and hide from the field. He has a knack for the dramatic, whether he wins, narrowly loses or misses the cut.

The weather is predicted to worsen over the weekend. Rain and high winds are forecast to blow in from the Irish Sea on Friday.

“The weather might come into play the next three days, and if it does, it could mix the whole thing up,” Sherman said. “There are several guys in play at this point.”

Scott Piercy of Las Vegas, the runner-up to Johnson in last month’s U.S. Open, took himself out of play with an unlucky 77.

“Some guys have shot themselves out of it, but there are several guys way back who still can be a part of it,” said Blessing (Sportsbookradio.com). “If the weather turns, Zach Johnson looks really good. He’s a good bad-weather player.

“The tournament starts Friday. The first day was the PGA Tour. The weather will make this the British Open again. I wouldn’t overreact.”

Mickelson has had an interesting year off the course. He’s linked to Las Vegas gambler Billy Walters in a possible insider trading case being investigated by the FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission. Lefty agreed to pay back about $1 million to get off the hook.

Let’s see if his luck holds up for three more days.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports betting columnist Matt Youmans can be reached at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. He co-hosts “The Las Vegas Sportsline” weekdays at 2 p.m. on ESPN Radio (1100 AM). Follow on Twitter: @mattyoumans247