Phil Mickelson showed who he really is with | Golf News

Phil Mickelson made a memorable gesture to his taking part in accomplice Ryan Peake after they performed collectively in the first spherical of The Open Championship, giving him a signed glove and ball. Peake is not the only controversial main participant this 12 months, after a jailed Masters champion’s return to Augusta National.

Peake earned his spot at The Open by clinching the New Zealand Open earlier this 12 months, marking a vital turnaround for the Australian who was once an ex-bike gang member and served 5 years in prison for critical assault until his 2019 release.

Competing in the season’s last main championship, Peake had the possibility to tee off with golf legend and LIV Golf participant Mickelson. After their spherical, Peake walked away with a particular memento. Somewhat satirically, a rival participant’s caddie was banned from getting into the UK due a prior conviction.

“It was pretty good,” Peake remarked about his time with the six-time main champion on the opening day. “I just asked for his golf ball and got him to sign a golf glove for me after.”

Despite the unbelievable expertise, Peake struggled on the course, capturing a six-over-par 77 on Thursday. Reflecting on his efficiency on the Northern Irish hyperlinks, the Aussie expressed his disappointment.

“I know everyone is going to look at it and say you take the experience in and stuff like that, but obviously very disappointed with the round,” he confessed.

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“Not what I want. So pretty flat at the moment. Was pretty flat out there as well. I just got beat up out there. I felt like I did a couple of things all right and kind of didn’t get rewarded for them. But I was like Father Christmas out there; I was just handing out presents to the golf course.

“I just saved throwing them away, and it was just very irritating. But I’m sure I’ll — clearly I’ve still obtained tomorrow and I’ll strive and do one thing to make this cut.

“But the whole experience sort of thing, that’s something that I’ll look on further down the track. I’m not trying to — I’m here to compete. I’m in a competitive mode. So yeah, I was pretty flat.”

Mickelson had a significantly better begin to his championship, opening with a one-under-par 70, placing him in a good place for Friday. “I really enjoyed it,” Mickelson remarked about his first spherical.

“I played really well, and I had an opportunity. Like I really enjoy playing these conditions and playing this tournament. It’s just a lot of fun. I think, when you get conditions like this, you start to fall back on realizing that 60, 80 feet in the proper spot is like a good spot.

“You begin to understand that you may make 20 or 30-footers out right here. You do not have to hit it 6 toes to make a birdie. You can hit it 20, 30 toes because the greens do not break a lot, and you’ll be able to hit them aggressively.

“I didn’t make a ton of long ones, but I made a lot of short ones and a lot of good up-and-downs and lag putting. You find that going back on past experience, you don’t have to press it. You don’t have to force it.”