British Open 2012: Phil Mickelson Shouldn't Be Mammoth Underdog

Phil Mickelson’s wisdom will keep him alive.

Lefty isn’t expected to do much in the 2012 British Open. The 42-year-old’s recent maturation there, though, will keep him in the hunt throughout.

Jim Litke of the Atlanta Constitution-Journal reported that Mickelson’s swing coach Bill Harmon talked about the veteran’s improved patience over the years to play it safe in the harsh British Open conditions. Harmon said:

"

He's finally getting the whole bad-weather thing. He likes to bomb the ball, take risks and, until the last couple years, he was stubborn about changing. But the second last year at (Royal) St. George's reinforced some of the work we'd been doing and now, the worse the conditions, the more conservative his game gets. If Phil is going to win one of these, it will be because he's playing them a lot differently from the way he used to.

"

Mickelson has never won the Open Championship, but he was close in 2011.

He finished tied for second in the tournament—his best performance there of his storied career. At the beginning of the final round, Mickelson got hot and eventually tied Darren Clarke for the lead. His poor putting on the back nine would ultimately cost him the win, but the strong showing was still an encouragement.

Prior to last year’s British Open, Mickelson had recorded just one top-10 finish in his past 17 tournaments there. It was his worst major by far, but now it arguably provides him with his best shot to win one.

Mickelson hasn’t won a major since the 2010 Masters. That’s one reason why, according to Bovado, he’s a 33-to-1 underdog going into the event. Those are steep odds for a golfer whose light bulb just turned on.

Expect Mickelson to contend for the second straight year, and don’t be shocked if he wins some fans a bit of money.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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