Cheeky birdie puts Mickelson in driving seat

Helped by one of the more outrageous birdies of his career – and there have been an awful lot of them – Phil Mickelson is on course for the perfect pre-British Open pick-me-up tomorrow.

Having injured his left wrist practising for last month’s US Open and missing the halfway cut both at Oakmont and at Congressional last week, Mickelson leads the Barclays Scottish Open by one from world number 320 Gregory Havret with 18 holes to go at Loch Lomond.

If he goes on to lift the trophy and the £500,000 (€738,000) first prize that comes with it, Mickelson will be able to head to Carnoustie having achieved his first solo victory in Europe since he was a rookie professional back in 1993.

“That would mean a lot to me, as it would to win in Scotland, the home of golf,” said the 37-year-old American.

The European tournament he won was the Tournoi Perrier event at the EuroDisney resort near Paris, not even a full European Tour event, but the Scottish Open is definitely not Mickey Mouse - six more of the world’s top 20 have been taking part this week.

Not one of them is among Mickelson’s nearest challengers after he shot a third round 68 in windy conditions to move onto the 12 under par total of 201.

In third place is England’s Steve Webster, whose world ranking has slumped to 469th since he had his one Tour win in the Italian Open two years ago. Coincidentally, Havret’s solitary victory was also in Italy six years ago.

The pair in joint fourth are hardly superstars either. South African Louis Oosthuizen, who shot 64 after surviving the cut with nothing to spare, is ranked 129th and England’s Phillip Archer 173rd.

Highlight of the day for Mickelson undoubtedly came on the 518-yard third.

Mickelson, poised to go back into the world number two spot when the weekly rankings are issued on Monday, resumed one behind France’s Gregory Havret and Spaniard Jose Manuel Lara and that gap looked set to grow when he hit his approach into the edge of the pond right of the green.

But on arriving at the spot Mickelson saw a chance to splash the ball out, so put his waterproofs on and without any undue delay – he did not fancy the idea of sinking without trace – swung and was delighted to see the ball finish within 10 feet of the flag.

Holing the putt for a birdie four was purely a bonus, but it helped set the tone for the remainder of the round.

Mickelson made further birdies on the seventh and ninth to turn in 33 and after bogeying the 10th when his ball was so badly plugged in a greenside bunker that he took a penalty drop the left-hander came back with another birdie on the long 13th and parred his way in.

Back-to-back victories are rare in golf, but it certainly will not concern Mickelson if he wins before the Open. A week before his second Masters triumph last year he left the best of the rest trailing 13 strokes behind at the BellSouth Classic in Atlanta.

“I do like it,” he commented. “After playing well the week before a major I usually have a decent performance the next week because I have momentum in my game.”

Graeme McDowell, on -5, is best of the Irish after today's third round. Darren Clarke, Peter Lawrie and Paul McGinley are all on -1.

Ernie Els kept his hopes alive with two birdies in the last five, but they were for a 71 after he played the first 13 in two over. He will resume five adrift of Mickelson.

The South African may profit, however, from the fact that Havret, Webster, Oosthuizen and Archer are trying to grab the one Open spot up for grabs as well as catch Mickelson.

Oosthuizen has a flight home to South Africa booked for Thursday, but another round like the one he produced today and he will be only too happy to cancel it.

First player off in the third round at 7.45am, the 24-year-old product of the Ernie Els Foundation improved from one under par to eight under.

Known as Shrek – and with a head cover on his driver to match – the former world junior champion followed an eagle on the 518-yard third with five birdies in the last seven holes.

And this a week after he finished next-to-last at the European Open in Ireland with two rounds of 79.

“You get days like those, but playing the last seven holes in the rain in level par yesterday to make the cut gave me a confidence boost.”