Mickelson defends one-shot lead in Open third round

American Phil Mickelson will defend a one-stroke lead in the British Open when he begins his third round at Royal Troon later on Saturday.

The left-hander shot a 69 on Friday in wet and windy weather to sit at 10 under par and lead the championship by a single shot from Sweden’s Henrik Stenson.

Mickelson is looking to win the Open for the second time following his victory at Muirfield, on the other side of Scotland, in 2013.

He built on his major championship record-equalling low round of 63 on Thursday with a solid showing in far less favourable conditions on Friday.

Stenson, meanwhile, shot the best round of the day on Friday with a 65 and that duo will go out last on Saturday, teeing off at 3:20pm local time (1420 GMT).

Just before them, American former PGA champion Keegan Bradley and Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen will play together, with the pair sitting joint-third on seven-under for the championship.

Reigning champion Zach Johnson of the United States sits at five-under, and all those going out later on Saturday will hope the wind has died down to some extent by then.

The Open has so far seen a gloriously sunny day on Thursday followed by often brutal conditions for the second round.

It is expected to stay dry but overcast on Saturday, but winds are expected to gust at up to 30 miles per hour (48km/h) throughout the day.

As a result, organisers confirmed they had decided not to cut or roll the greens and said that certain pins and tees were being adjusted.

The first player to tee off on Saturday morning was South Africa’s Haydn Porteous, who just made the cut at four over par.

He went out on his own and had an eventful front nine, with four birdies as well as a bogey four at the short eighth hole.

Among the other players out on the course early on Saturday were Bubba Watson, Masters champion Danny Willett and Jordan Spieth, who all only narrowly made it through to the weekend.