Phil Mickelson is no stranger to travelling but he was reminded on the eve of the Scottish Open that in a 21-year pro career he’s had just one victory on European soil.
That victory was less than one year into his career in 1993 when he captured a European secondary Challenge Tour event near Euro Disney in France.
Since then Mickelson has claimed four Major Championships and 40 other titles including 33 regular PGA Tour events.
“Boy, that was 20 years ago and I don’t really remember much about the week other than I went to Euro Disney and had a good time,” he said.
“I played Steve Elkington in the finals and we went head-to-head. I was quite a few back and shot a low final round to clip him by one or two.”
Mickelson is competing in his ninth Scottish Open and at no. 8 in the world is the highest ranked player teeing up on the Gil Hanse designed Castle Stuart course. “The last eight years I’ve started to play better on links-style courses, better golf in bad weather and better golf along the ground. But it’s still a challenge for me and it’s still not something that I grew up learning but it’s something I am still trying to learn.”