Mickelson looking to assemble two strong weeks in Scotland and England

Phil Mickelson hopes this week's Barclays Scottish Open at Castle Stuart and next week's Brtish Open at Royal St. George’s will see him return to the big time.

With Tiger Woods not having won since November 2009 and currently out injured, many expected the three-time Masters champion to reach the world No. 1 spot for the first time in his career. Instead, he finds himself down in sixth place, with only one victory since beating Lee Westwood at Augusta National 15 months ago.

"I don't look too closely at the position," he said. "It's wide open at the top and starting here at the Barclays I will be playing almost every week in big events and trying to get a level of play out of my game that hasn't been there as often as I would like.

"If you play well, you get rewarded. I don't look at the system in depth,” he explained. “It rewards good play -- and I need to play better."

"I love playing the week before a major and getting acclimatized,” he added. "I am really excited. I feel my game is right there and Loch Lomond (site of recent editions of the Scottish Open) was great, but playing at a links-style course the week before the British Open is an ideal way to get ready."

Mickelson did take hime out to go to Wimbledon with wife Amy for the men's singles final.

"What an experience -- to see these guys play at such a high level was tremendous,” he said. "My family is going to spend some time in Paris as well as London and take in a bunch of museums and Hyde Park.

"It's given us an opportunity to see what London has to offer and we are excited about getting to Inverness,” he added. “I think my kids want to get to Loch Ness -- they are excited to go and check it out."