“Every time we watch the replay of the telecast, it brings out the same emotions and highs and lows that we experienced..."

Karen Crouse does a nice job getting Jim "Bones" Mackay to talk about last year's epic Phil Mickelson win at Muirfield and the rare emotions it evoked from the longtime Mickelson looper.

She writes:

Mackay’s clear head complements Mickelson’s unconcealed heart, but when Mickelson made a curling, left-to-right 10-footer for birdie at the final hole, Mackay was the one who lost it.

He was overcome by emotion seeing Mickelson succeed on a stage where he had failed so many times. It moved him beyond words to see all the time Mickelson had spent developing a cut drive to counteract the wind pay off on such a grand stage. The depth of Mackay’s fondness for Mickelson was revealed in a pool of tears that could have filled the claret jug. For one day, anyway, there was no taking for granted one of the most stable relationships in sports.

“It was awesome,” Mickelson said, adding: “Every time we watch the replay of the telecast, it brings out the same emotions and highs and lows that we experienced throughout that round. It’s something that we’ll cherish forever.”

Mickelson returned the jug Monday at Royal Liverpool to R&A Chief Executive Peter Dawson and a miraculously situated sponsor's vehicle that happened to make some of the frames.

Steve DiMeglio reports on Mickelson's return and his upbeat mood Monday as he prepares to defend.

Jim McCabe files a super recounting of last year and Mickelson's return as defending champion.

There was this about the jug getting used as a decanter for some nice wine, which ended up being the big takeaway from his presser.

Pushed to disclose what has been used to celebrate these toasts, Mickelson smiled. Treating the Claret Jug with reverence, he said, is to realize only the finest quality tastes can be used and one of his friends offered up a 1990 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti.

“Now, I didn’t know what this was when I drank it,” Mickelson said. “I just knew that it was really good.”

Given that a bottle of Romanee-Conti could set you back anywhere from $20,000 and $40,000, it’s safe to assume the French wine was very good, so it will remain another vivid memory of his year of supreme satisfaction.

Getting Ready For Three Weeks Of Links Golf

Thursday's kick-off of the Ricoh Women's British Open and the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open will be followed by The Open and finally, the Senior British Open.

With the Ryder Cup headed to an inland Jack Nicklaus design, this is our first and only chance to soak up links golf. I set up the next three weeks in this Loop post and add some pithy lines from the great Bernard Darwin to whet your appetite. I also added this short post on the wackiest entrance drive I've ever seen, the one-lane road to Royal Aberdeen's next door neighbor, Murcar.

As for Royal Aberdeen's Balgownie course, it's a sensational links with a brutal outgoing nine and a more reasonable incoming nine that is marred slightly by a modified 12th green (Martin Hawtree) and a bland 17th hole. The penultimate hole is not poor, it's just that the club's shorter Silverburn course's sporty 17th sits next to the Balgownie 17th and easily could be confused as the hole you are supposed to go to after the 16th. I've included it at the tail end of this slideshow from 2012 when the course was especially lush from spring rains.

Coverage of the Scottish Open starts Thursday on Golf Channel in the U.S., with 90 minutes each weekend day airing on NBC.

Factory Worker Cleared For Vacation Time To Play The Open!

Open Championship qualifier and factory worker John Singleton has been given the two weeks off he needs to prepare and play in The Open, reports Rob Pattinson of the Liverpool Echo.

Even better, Singleton's co-workers will get the day off to cheer their man on during Thursday play at Royal Liverpool according to his boss.

Mr Tweddle said: “Because we cut John some slack we thought we ought to cut everybody else some. We gave them a day’s holiday and said if they want to take it on Thursday and go to the Open we would buy them tickets.

“I think John’s still got his feet on the ground, he’s such a nice guy, he really is.

“We have the same passion, if only I could play as well as he can!

“It’s just amazing. Who would ever think that the guy from the shop floor would make it to the pinnacle of his chosen sport? I just hope he enjoys it.”

We talked about Singleton on Morning Drive Monday and what a fantastic story this is in the day of dwindling opportunities for genuine open qualifiers.