Lucky bounce keeps Lefty in bounds and in the hunt

Benefiting from a timely ricochet off a man's leg that kept a wayward shot in bounds, Phil Mickelson finished the third round only two shots off the lead. Now he is hoping that his extra practice at Troon last week will pay off for him on Sunday.

TROON, Scotland (PA) -- Phil Mickelson admitted he had enjoyed a massive stroke of luck on Saturday to keep his Open Championship challenge on track.

Mickelson's tee shot on the 15th hole of the third round was heading out of bounds, until it struck a spectator on the leg and stayed in play by a matter of inches. The Masters champion went on to par the hole and record a third-round 68 to lie two shots behind leader Todd Hamilton going into Sunday's final round.

"I thought for sure it was going out," said Mickelson, whose last bogey was on the 17th hole of his first round -- a run of 37 holes. "There was nothing to stop it other than a gentleman's leg.

"Did I thank him? Oh yeah!" he added with a smile. "I was standing on the road (to take the second shot), which was out of bounds, and it should have been out. It certainly was a tremendous break. "Every now and then you need a break, and it certainly kept my round going."

Mickelson, looking to become only the eighth player to win the Masters and Open Championship in the same year, is reaping the benefits of some early practice at Troon.

The left-hander, who also finished second to Retief Goosen in the U.S. Open, skipped the pre-tournament pro-am at the Barclays Scottish Open last week to play the course and improve his Open record, which includes no top10 finishes in 11 tries.

"It's fun. Normally I'm watching on TV -- I've already played and I'm watching the leaders tee off," he said. "It's very nice to have a great chance now and going into Sunday the element of the weather won't be as big a factor. If we get tough conditions, everybody has to play and fight it out for the championship.

"It's really cool to see a lot of the top players in contention, and a lot of players you may not have thought would be there on Thursday," he added. "A lot of guys have a great chance tomorrow."

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