Big guns misfire

Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson failed to inspire each other into launching an Open challenge at St Andrews today.

The world’s third and fourth-ranked players respectively stuttered to rounds of 75 and 72 in the third round to drop out of contention.

Els never threatened to climb the leaderboard from the moment he three-putted the first for a bogey, and although the South African birdied the seventh and ninth, three bogeys on the back nine left him back in the pack.

In contrast Mickelson was four under par for his first 10 holes and inside the top 10 before a bogey at the 12th, where he drove into gorse, a double bogey on the 13th and another dropped shot on the 17th.

“I played well for 11 holes and poorly the last seven,” a terse Mickelson said afterwards.

“No excuses, I didn’t play well the last seven and it was frustrating.

“If I’d played the last seven I could have had a chance tomorrow.”