Phil Mickelson confident of adding to Major tally

Phil Mickelson knows he will never have a better chance to add a British Open title to his collection in the absence of the injured Tiger Woods at Royal Birkdale.

With Woods sidelined following knee surgery, his left-handed compatriot arrives in Southport as the de facto world number one, and Mickelson was upbeat about his prospects for the coming week, despite his poor record in the world's oldest major.

Mickelson's subdued form at the Scottish Open, where he finished well down the field after a final round 73, did not augur particularly well.

But he declared himself happy with his state of preparation after returning from a three-week break in the aftermath of the US Open.

"I had a great week at Loch Lomond even though I didn't play quite as well as I would have wanted to," he said.

"I've still got a way to go with my short game. But the week meant I got acclimatised to UK time, my body feels good and I had three good days at Birkdale before going up to Scotland.

"That gave me an opportunity to get to know the course, look at my strengths and weaknesses, work on them and see if I can put it all together for the Open."

Birkdale has special memories for Mickelson as it was here that he made his Open debut, as an amateur back in 1991.

"I love coming back," he said. "It is a special place and I consider it one of the best courses in Britain. It is a tough test but I think it is a very fair one and I think it is a course where you will see the best players come out on top.

"There will be an opportunity for the good players to separate themselves through shot-making and scoring around the greens.

"Around the fairways and around the greens some people will be able to attack the pins rather than just hack the ball out. That gives the more skilled players a chance to showcase their talents."

Last week's reconnaissance mission enabled Mickelson to establish how he intends to take on the Birkdale lay-out, with the priority in terms of practice in the days before the action tees off on Thursday being work on his normally reliable chipping and putting.

"In majors, the key is always making pars from around the greens, I know I've got to chip the ball well and putt the ball well, so that is where I will be working."

Mickelson's Open debut was in the year that Australia's Ian Baker-Finch won.

The then 21-year-old made the cut but finished 72nd and his memories reflect why he has repeatedly struggled to make an impact in the Open, his only serious challenge coming at Troon in 2004, where he eventually finished third, his only top ten finish in 15 appearances.

"I remember the first time I went on the driving range and it was blowing as hard as I've ever seen it blow," Mickelson recalled.

"I was trying to hit these 2-irons and I couldn't get it to go 150 yards and I just remember being blown away at the conditions and what I was seeing.

"Nobody else was on the range, and rightfully so. I just thought it would be cool to see what it was like and it was an interesting ordeal."

For over a decade, Mickelson maintained that he could conquer links courses playing the same, high-striking game that has brought him so much success on the other side of the Atlantic.

But in recent years he has come to accept that he has to adapt to thrive and has been working intensively on the range of shots needed to succeed in the breeze on bumpy seaside courses.

"I believe that I've progressed in the last three or four years in my ability to control my trajectory."