Phil Mickelson at British Open 2015: Friday Leaderboard Score, Twitter Reaction

Phil Mickelson made an early push during the second round of the 2015 British Open on Friday. An eventful back nine prevented him from joining the leading pack, however, as he'll head into the weekend at two-under following an even-par 72.

That score left Mickelson seven strokes off the pace of leader Danny Willett, walking off the course in a tie for 34th place. The positioning is likely to fluctuate with plenty of players still navigating around St. Andrews hoping to complete Round 2 before darkness falls.

Let's check out how the day played out for the 2013 Open Championship winner. That's followed by a look at how the leaderboard is currently shaping up and a recap of Mickelson's trip around the storied course.

Friday Scorecard

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Total
Hole	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Total
Par	4	4	4	4	5	4	4	3	4	36
Score	4	4	3	4	4	4	4	3	4	34
Overall	-2	-2	-3	-3	-4	-4	-4	-4	-4	-
Par	4	3	4	4	5	4	4	4	4	36
Score	3	5	4	3	5	5	4	4	5	38
Overall	-5	-3	-3	-4	-4	-3	-3	-3	-2	-

Tournament Leaderboard

Day 2 Recap

The British Open is typically different from the other majors due to the impact of the weather, especially when the tournament stops at St. Andrews. The playing conditions can change drastically in a matter of hours and severely impact the scores, either positively or negatively.

That's something Mickelson understands after more than 20 years of making the journey across the Atlantic for the season's third major. So after merely getting by with a two-under 70 on Thursday in tough conditions, he hoped things would turn in his favor Friday.

"I've come to really love and appreciate playing here and in this weather," Mickelson said, per Hank Gola of the New York Daily News. "You need an element of luck if you're going to do well in this tournament. You need the luck of the draw. You just can't be given a disadvantage, a significant disadvantage the first two days. We were at a significant disadvantage today, and hopefully if we're able to play the entire day tomorrow, it will even itself out."

It didn't quite work out that way for the five-time major champion.

Rain halted play for more than three hours early in the day. While that left soft greens for Mickelson to attack during the opening stages of his round, it also pushed his playing window into the afternoon, when the winds typically start to howl at the home of golf.

Lefty made up some ground early with birdies on No. 3 and No. 5. He played mostly drama-free golf on the front nine, collecting a steady stream of pars and avoiding the setbacks that consistently popped up throughout the first day.

As expected, the wind began to pick up as he made the turn. It didn't affect him on the 10th, as he dropped in another birdie to reach five-under par. Mike O'Malley of Golf Digest summed up what it's like when the veteran American is firing on all cylinders:

The run also allowed Mickelson to crack the top 10. It's rare air for him at St. Andrews, as noted by Kelly Tilghman of the Golf Channel:

"

Phil Mickelson has never had a top 10 at the Old Course in the Open. A win would take care of that.

— Kelly Tilghman (@KellyTilghmanGC) July 17, 2015"

His appearance on the front page of the leaderboard didn't last long, though.

He posted a double bogey on No. 11 to give back most of the progress he'd made earlier in the day. He got himself in trouble off the par-three tee and couldn't make the recovery, as Helen Ross of the PGA Tour highlighted:

After trading a birdie at the 13th with a bogey at the 15th, Mickelson gave himself a chance to close on a high note with some late birdie looks. But he couldn't convert, the most frustrating miss coming at No. 17 when his putt came up just short.

That didn't take away from the shot that made the birdie putt possible, though. Sam Weinman of Golf Digest noted the highlight-reel moment:

The frustration of that missed opportunity may have impacted Mickelson on the 18th. He wasn't able to take advantage of a birdie hole and lipped out in his attempt to save par, giving back the only remaining stroke he gained during the round.

ByTheMin Golf spotlighted his movement in the wrong direction in the latter stages:

Looking ahead, Mickelson must go low on Saturday to have a realistic chance to win. The conditions have so far prevented anybody from running away with the tournament, but at the same time are keeping a lot of players in the mix.

The number of other contenders between himself and the leader after moving day will be almost as important as the shot deficit. Bad weather wouldn't necessarily hurt his chances because it would knock a lot of players out of the conversation, and his experience should help him survive.

Beyond the weather, avoiding the consistent setbacks that plagued him over the first two rounds is essential to making a charge toward the Claret Jug.