Colin Montgomerie clings to British Open chance

The Open 2011: Phil Mickelson not losing sleep over Tiger Woods' absence from Royal St George's

Phil Mickelson did his best to bring a few rays of Californian sunshine to Castle Stuart on Wednesday.

Best of enemies: asked if he had concerns for Tiger Woods's well-being in the long-term, Phil Mickelson stopped well short of reaching for his hankie Photo: GETTY IMAGES

But his enthusiasm for the area’s charms – “just the place for “fun daily activities, hikes and walks,” said the man from San Diego – would probably have astonished those wizened locals who woke up to a slate-grey sky, watched rivulets of rain roll down their windows, and opted to stay indoors instead.

But then, maybe Moray did feel like Malibu to Mickelson as he digested the news of Tiger Woods’s withdrawal from the Open.

In any other era but the one Woods has dominated, Mickelson would have won far more than the four major titles he has accrued to date, so his chances of collecting a fifth in Kent must suddenly have looked all the brighter when he heard that his nemesis would not be there.

The looks of mutual loathing that passed between them during their improbable pairing at the 2004 Ryder Cup will always be cited as evidence of their underlying feelings about each other.

Mickelson, whose diplomatic skills are almost as sharp as his gifts with a lob wedge, is well practised in the art of uttering platitudes about Woods – Woods, in turn, has developed a talent for saying almost nothing whatsoever about Mickelson – but it was clear from his cursory remarks at Castle Stuart on Wednesday that he will not be losing sleep over the younger man’s absence.Read more...