Mickelson in contention at Scottish Open

The first regular European Tour event being shown live on American television could have an ideal winner after Phil Mickelson moved into contention in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open today.

Mickelson began the third round at Castle Stuart four shots off the lead and, on another day of low scoring, got off to a frustrating start with seven straight pars.

But the four-time major winner then birdied six of his last 11 holes to set the clubhouse target on 14 under par, a target soon matched by England’s John Parry and South African Branden Grace, who also returned rounds of 66.

“The last 11 holes were a lot of fun,” Mickelson, 43, said. “The first seven holes I got off to a bit of a slow start and I was really behind when I needed to make up ground.

“On the eighth I tried to slow it down and be patient, got one putt to drop and that seemed to ignite the rest of the round. I think I will be a couple back (at the end of the day) but I’ve got myself in a good position for tomorrow and I am really looking forward to it.”

A victory tomorrow would be Mickelson’s first individual win on British soil - he was part of the American team that won the Dunhill Cup at St Andrews in 1996 - but he added: “Any victory over here would be terrific but we are getting ahead of ourselves.

“There’s a packed leaderboard so it will take one good round of a shootout between 15 and 20 guys that are right there. Being in position and shooting that good round today feels terrific but I’ve got to go out tomorrow and duplicate it.”

Mickelson was right about the leaderboard, with France’s Raphael Jacquelin and Northern Ireland’s Gareth Maybin in the clubhouse on 13 under and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson moving into the lead on the course.

Stenson, back to 32nd in the world after his second career slump saw him 230th at the beginning of 2012, had carded six birdies and one bogey in his first 14 holes to move to 15 under.