Rory McIlroy’s relationship with Royal Portrush

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – Neal Lancaster may be an unexpected source of inspiration for Phil Mickelson in his U.S. Open quest, but Mickelson referenced the winner of one PGA TOUR title for good reason. More than two decades ago, Lancaster showed that Shinnecock Hills can be conquered in the ideal scoring conditions that normally come with an early tee time. Lancaster started the final round of the 1995 U.S. Open in 46th place, 10 shots off the lead, after shooting 77. He still was an afterthought after starting Sunday’s round with a 1-over 36.  But then he made six birdies over the final nine holes to shoot the first 29 in U.S. Open history. His 65 vaulted him into fourth place, four shots behind winner Corey Pavin. For good measure, Lancaster did it again the following year. Only three men have shot 29 over nine holes at the U.S. Open, and Lancaster remains the only man to do it twice. Mickelson starts Saturday’s third round, which falls on his 48th birthday, in a similar position. He is T35 and, like Lancaster, 10 shots behind leader Dustin Johnson. Mickelson has two rounds remaining to make his comeback, though. Lancaster only had one. Johnson, who holds a four-shot lead over Scott Piercy and Charley Hoffman, has control of this golf tournament. If he plays well Saturday, he will remove much of the field from contention. He can keep the hopes of pursuers like Mickelson alive if he struggles, though. Mickelson will tee off at 11:30 a.m. alongside Andrew “Beefâ€� Johnston in what promises to be a popular group for the New York galleries. Both players are 6 over par. Mickelson was there for Lancaster’s historic round. They were separated by nine shots at the start of the day but finished the tournament tied. Mickelson started that day in third place, one stroke behind co-leaders Tom Lehman and Greg Norman. Mickelson still had a chance to win until a double-bogey at the par-5 16th. It was Mickelson’s first shot at winning his national championship. He’s still seeking a U.S. Open victory to complete the career Grand Slam. He would be the oldest winner in U.S. Open history. “What happened in 1995, I will always remember,â€� said Mickelson, who finished fourth in that U.S. Open. “The conditions were calm in the morning. I remember Neal Lancaster shooting 29 for nine holes and getting right back in it. The conditions are supposed to be calm in the morning, kind of like we’re seeing. I think there’s a 4-, 5-, 6-under-par round there. If I can shoot that or anybody who just made the cut, I think there’s potential. You just never know in this tournament. If the wind picks up, it could move them into contention for Sunday.â€� Mickelson has only missed two fairways this week, and he hit 15 greens in Friday’s 69. He has struggled with his short game, though, and was seen on the short-game practice area Friday evening after finishing his round around 7 p.m. He bogeyed two of his first three holes Friday to fall to 9 over par and outside the cut line. He made three birdies and no bogeys over the final 15 holes. “I drove it great. I didn’t putt well, didn’t chip well,â€� Mickelson said. “I’m having trouble getting the ball close around the greens. I’m having trouble getting the ball to the hole. “I’m just leaving everything short. … I’m going to have to be a little more aggressive around the greens.â€� Fortunately, he has an unlikely source of inspiration as he tries to charge back into contention at Shinnecock Hills.

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CROMWELL, Conn. — Paul Casey shot an 8-under 62 on Saturday to take a four-stroke lead into the final round of the Travelers Championship. The Valspar winner in Florida in March for his first PGA TOUR title in nine years, Casey called the bogey-free round at TPC River Highlands his best of the year. The Englishman had six birdies and an eagle — at the signature par-4 15th hole — to reach 16-under 194. He broke out of the pack by hitting all 18 greens and has a streak of 23 straight heading into Sunday. Russell Henley was 12 under after a 67, and J.B. Holmes, Anirban Lahiri and third-round leader Brain Harman were 11 under. Jason Day shot 66, and Bubba Watson 67. Leaving them 10 under. Watson came from six back to the 2010 event, and beat Casey in a playoff in 2015. Defending champion Jordan Spieth was 3 under after a 71. He opened 63-73.

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Jordan Spieth gets his 2018-19 season underway in Las Vegas, while Rickie Fowler returns to TPC Summerlin after a two-year hiatus as the PGA TOUR reconvenes on U.S. shores for a three-event push to its fall finish. Bryson DeChambeau, third in last year’s final FedExCup tally, and THE PLAYERS Championship titleholder Webb Simpson also highlight arguably the best field to hit Vegas in recent years, as Patrick Cantlay embarks on his first career title defense. FIELD NOTES: The lineup features nine entrants who competed in last month’s TOUR Championship at East Lake. … Tony Finau, who finished 6th in the FedExCup last season, makes it five members of the U.S. Ryder Cup roster set to compete at TPC Summerlin. Captain and 2010 FedExCup champion Jim Furyk  also will tee it up, his first start since a share of fourth at the Wyndham Championship in August. … Davis Love III, who won the 1993 edition, is joined by two fellow Hall of Famers in Ernie Els and Vijay Singh. … J.J. Spaun tees it up for the fifth time in as many weeks to start the season, the only man remaining who has yet to take a week off. … Freddie Jacobson, who sat out all of last season after hand surgery, tees it up on TOUR for the first time since the 2017 AT&T Byron Nelson. The 2011 Travelers Championship winner made three starts in Europe this fall, making one cut. … Kenny Perry, 58, makes his first TOUR start of the season and just his third since 2015. He’s playing on a one-time exemption afforded the top 50 in career earnings. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. STORYLINES: Spieth makes his first fall start since October 2015, getting an early jump after falling just below the cut line to qualify for East Lake. That left him with 24 starts last year, one shy of the minimum for players who didn’t add a new venue to their schedule. … DeChambeau and Fowler also make their first starts of the new season, with DeChambeau coming off two wins in last seaso’s FedExCup Playoffs. … Las Vegas has been prime territory for first-time winners, with Cantlay becoming the third in the past four editions and 11th in the past 16. … Former champions Ryan Moore (2012) and Kevin Na (2011) are among more than a half-dozen entrants with Las Vegas ties seeking to bring the trophy back to local hands. … Cantlay has a chance to join Furyk (1998-99) as just the second man to claim back-to-back titles in Las Vegas. … A total of 22 Shriners Hospital patients – one from each campus across the country – will serve as standard bearers during the final two days. COURSE: TPC Summerlin, 7,255 yards, par 71. Built on land in Las Vegas’ western reaches once owned by Howard Hughes, the Bobby Weed/Fuzzy Zoeller project opened in 1991 and begins its second decade as the sole locale for the TOUR’s annual visit. The layout winds through arroyos and canyons, building to four closing holes that make golfers weigh risk/reward – the drivable par-4 15th, the par-5 16th, the water-lined par-3 17th and a strong par-4 No. 18. Originally part of a three-course tournament rotation, a 2008 restructuring brought all rounds to a single site. 72-HOLE RECORD: 260, Ryan Moore (2012), Webb Simpson (2013). 18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Chip Beck (3rd round, 1991 at Sunrise GC). TPC Summerlin record: 60, J.J. Henry (1st round, 2013), Rod Pampling (1st round, 2016). LAST YEAR: Cantlay produced magic from behind a tree to make par on the second playoff hole, bringing a long-sought win to a career once derailed by injury and heartbreak. Cantlay, Whee Kim and Alex Cejka all bogeyed the first extra hole after surviving a windblown final round, and Cantlay appeared in jeopardy after his tee shot on the second replay at No.18 wound up in tree trouble. The former UCLA star, though, managed to thread a 4-iron under one tree and around another, his ball coming to rest at the back of the green. Cantlay nearly holed his putt from the fringe, too, brushing home the winner after Cejka missed his par save. Victory was especially poignant for Cantlay, pegged for early stardom as an amateur before a stress fracture in his back kept him off the course for more than two years. During that time he also lost his best friend and caddie, Chris Roth, in a hit-and-run accident as the two were crossing a busy intersection in Newport Beach, Calif. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Saturday, 4:30-7:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Sunday, 3:30-6:30 p.m. (GC). PGA TOUR LIVE: None. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 2-7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 3-7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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