Mickelson ready for British tune-up this week
INVERNESS, Scotland (AP) -- Just when he thought he'd finally understood the unique nature of links golf, Phil Mickelson arrived at last year's British Open and missed the cut for the first time at a major in five years. "I don't know what to say," Mickelson repeated as he prepared to leave Lytham two days earlier than expected. Fresh off another disappointment - a sixth second-place finish at the U.S. Open last month - the American is back for another go on a links course as he plays the Scottish Open starting Thursday, a week before the British Open at Muirfield. "It's still a challenge for me, still not something I grew up doing, still something I'm trying to learn as I continue through my career," Mickelson said Wednesday. "So I'm always cautiously optimistic." Any self-belief must be in short supply whenever he flies to Europe - he hasn't won here in 20 years, since a victory in a second-tier Challenge Tour event in Paris in which he narrowly beat Steve Elkington. But links golf is something that continues to appeal to Mickelson. And while Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and the rest of the world's top seven have headed to courses across Britain to prepare for the British Open in non-competitive conditions, the eighth-ranked Mickelson will be at Castle Stuart this week practicing his bump-and-runs and low drives into the wind with a title and prize money at stake.