The Open: Phil Mickelson reacts to incredible start at Royal Portrush

Multiple major champion Phil Mickelson refused to be drawn into a hot topic on the PGA Tour after he rolled back the years on day one of The Open. 

Mickelson, 55, got off to a tremendous start at the final men's major of the year. 

The six-time major champion carded an opening 1-under 70 at Royal Portrush which included holing out for par from the sand on the third hole. 

Earlier in the week social media star Grant Horvat, who plays alongside Mickelson in a YouTube golf series against other high-profile players and influencers, revealed he has turned down the opportunity to play in a PGA Tour event. 

Horvat was invited to play in this week's Barracuda Championship but the influencer, who has more than 1.6m subscribers, explained he rejected the offer because he wasn't allowed to take a film crew with him. 

"The only reason I was in the position to receive an invitation like this is because of YouTube and you all watching the videos, so if I’m going to play, we want film it," Horvat said. 

His decision sparked a frenzied debate on X. 

Mickelson has never been shy in offering his opinion but decided to dodge reporters' questions about the subject on Thursday. 

"He's the nicest guy, and he's been very helpful for me to kind of get into the YouTube space, a space that I don't really know a lot about," Mickelson said of Horvat.

A reporter asked Mickelson: "Do you think that's a missed opportunity though?"

Mickelson said: "I'm not going into the weeds on that. I just really like him."

"That was a crazy one"

Mickelson got into trouble at Portrush's third hole. 

His golf ball plugged in the bunker and Mickelson was still playing from the sand on his third after he tried, and failed, to splash out. 

Mickelson then zipped a wedge just right of the pin and drew a huge roar when it dropped in for an unlikely par. 

The former Open champion said the shot involved a bit of luck. 

"That was a crazy one," he said. 

"It was really one of maybe two poor shots I hit, I felt. That bunker shot that buried in the lip, and then to make it, it was obviously a lot of luck. It was crazy. I was just trying to save bogey, and I got lucky and it went in.

I really hit a lot of good shots today, and it wasn't too stressful.

Mickelson's greatest career accomplishment

Mickelson is playing in his 31st Open Championship this week. He lifted the Claret Jug in 2013 at Muirfield. 

Mickelson, who also won three green jackets at Augusta National and the PGA Championship twice, regards his victory in Scotland as his greatest accomplishment. 

Why?

"Because I had to learn a style of golf that I didn't grow up playing," he said. 

"It's kind of the greatest source of pride for me as a player to overcome those obstacles. 

"Now I've come to really love it, enjoy it, and I seem to play well in some of the adverse conditions too."

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