HOYLAKE, England - Phil Mickelson rolled long putts across the practice green in front of the Royal Liverpool clubhouse, some of them going in, most of them the right distance. Chase Edmonds Cardinals Jersey . He chirped to the caddie of Brandt Snedeker about their money game, a Mickelson tradition at the majors. Lefty was in good spirits Monday at the British Open, except for having to return the claret jug. Even that allowed him to reflect on a year of keeping golfs oldest trophy, and the confidence he finally has when he plays links golf. "Its a different feeling for me coming over here now having won this tournament," Mickelson said. "The way I felt was, Am I ever going to break through and play well on links golf and win an Open Championship? Now I know that I can. I know that Ive done it, and it takes a lot of pressure off me." Confidence in links golf? Yes. In his game? That takes a little more work. Not even Mickelson would have imagined when he left Muirfield last summer with the claret jug that he would not have another tournament anywhere in the world. This is the longest he has gone without winning in five years. And except for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in January, where he was runner-up, Mickelson hasnt been particularly close. He has missed three cuts. He withdrew twice after narrowly making the cut because of injuries in San Diego and San Antonio. At the Masters, where he is a three-time champion, Mickelson missed the cut for the first time in 17 years. His lone top 10 on the PGA Tour was last August at The Barclays, a tie for sixth when he closed with a 65. So why the smile? "Normally, I would be discourage or frustrated, but Im just not," Mickelson said. "I feel like Ive had some good breakthroughs in some areas. I havent had the results. I know I havent played well. But the parts feel a lot better than the whole right now. And I dont know when it will all click together. I dont know if it will be this week. I dont know if it will be in three weeks or a month or what, but it should be soon." Hes running out of time. Mickelson is No. 12 in the Ryder Cup standings. He has qualified for every team since 1995 — two years after Jordan Spieth was born. He has reached the FedEx Cup finale for the top 30 at the Tour Championship every year since it began in 2007. With only three starts before the playoffs begin, Mickelson is at No. 97. Then again, its easy for Mickelson not to be overly concerned. He is 44 and has been on tour for half of his life, compiling 42 victories on the PGA Tour and five majors, including that claret jug. Its at least been a good year for the jug. He has taken it to golf clubs and corporate outings, shared it with friends and people he had never met. He has let his caddie, Jim Mackay, take it to pose for pictures. Mickelson had only one rule. "One of the things I stressed is that we have to treat the claret jug with reverence and respect that it deserves, and only put good stuff in it," he said. "No bad stuff was allowed. And each person that I brought it to had a different definition of what the good stuff was." One definition was a bottle of 1990 Romanee Conti, which can range in price from $16,000 to about $35,000. "Now, I didnt know what this was when I drank it," Mickelson said. "I just knew that it was really good. And that was the best bottle that was ever put in there." Like fine wine, Mickelson can only hope he gets better with age. Even though he had to overcome arthritis in the middle of the 2010 season, and only eight players older than he is right now have won majors, Mickelson doesnt see that as an obstacle. Sure, he has to work a little harder, train a little better, stretch a little more. "But I feel better than I have in a long time," he said. Padraig Harrington is the last player to repeat as Open champion. Tiger Woods repeated at Royal Liverpool in 2006. Tom Watson won back-to-back some 30 years ago. Winning majors is difficult enough. Winning the same one two years in a row is even harder. Monday was the first full day of practice for most players, while some took the day off. Woods didnt show up at the course after practicing both days on the weekend. Some players from the Scottish Open werent at Hoylake. Others, like Spieth, arrived Monday morning on a charter from the John Deere Classic and went on to play. Mickelson closed with a 65 at Royal Aberdeen to tie for 11th in the Scottish Open. He won the Scottish Open a year ago, and believes the lag putting into a crossing wind, along with seeing the ball react on links courses is a big benefit. Plus, hes never been so enthusiast about golfs oldest championship, mainly because his name is on the trophy. Mason Cole Jersey . In five games last month, Billings led all scorers with 11 goals, 27 assists and 38 points as the Rock posted a 2-3 record. Christian Kirk Cardinals Jersey . According to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger, the New York Rangers winger skated with extras and goalies today. http://www.officialauthenticcardinalsshop.com/authentic-josh-bynes-jersey.html . Head of clinic Josef Obrist tells the Austria Press Agency on Thursday that Morgenstern "is doing surprisingly well. ... He still has a memory gap but thats nothing unusual." Morgenstern has moved to a rehabilitation clinic in Klagenfurt for further recovery.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Chicago Bulls will look to get into the win column Thursday night when they host the New York Knicks in their home opener. The Bulls had a tough go of it Tuesday night when they opened their campaign with a 107-95 setback to the defending champion Miami Heat in South Beach. On that night, the Heat hung another championship banner and received their rings, while Chicago welcomed back its superstar. Derrick Rose, who missed all of last season recovering from a torn ACL, returned to the Bulls lineup. The 2011 MVP showed a lot of the burst that earned him the MVP trophy, but only finished with 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting, and committed five turnovers in about 34 minutes of action. "If anything Im disappointed in the loss," Rose said. "My performance, I can easily change that by making shots and turning down the turnovers. Its something we can learn from. Its not the end of the world; its not the playoffs where were going to be eliminated. We can fix things." Luol Deng and Jimmy Butler were plagued by early foul trouble and the vaunted Bulls defense was torched for 37 second-quarter points. Deng only managed four points, but Butler had a great second half and registered 20 points. It was a great night for Carlos Boozer, who scored a game-high 31 points, but All-Star center Joakim Noah had a rough go of things with two points and 11 rebounds. Noah was eased back into action after missing a significant portion of the preseason with a groin strain. The Knicks kicked off their Atlantic Division title defense Weednesday night with a hard-fought 90-83 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at Madison Square Garden. Benson Mayowa Cardinals Jersey. After jumping out to a 25-point halftime lead, the Knicks got smoked in the third quarter and had to play 48 demanding minutes to get the victory. The Knicks committed 22 turnovers in the win. "Thats not us," said New York head coach Mike Woodson. "Last year, we led the league in not turning it over." Carmelo Anthony paced the Knicks with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Raymond Felton chipped in with 18, followed by 16 from Iman Shumpert and 10 from Tyson Chandler. Woodson elected to return to the starting lineup the Knicks used late last season, when New York played great defense and won 13 in a row and 16 of its last 18. Metta World Peace played the most minutes off the bench for the Knicks with a shade under 18. Andrea Bargnani, the former No. 1 overall pick who came over in an offseason trade with the Toronto Raptors, only had six points in his New York debut. "I have to build and get our second unit in gear," admitted Woodson. "We have to get them comfortable with what were doing." Amare Stoudemire, who underwent another knee procedure this summer, did not play despite claims that he was healthy enough to go. J.R. Smith, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, was suspended the first five games of the season in accordance with the leagues drug policy. The Bulls swept the season series with the Knicks last year and have won eight of their last nine at home against New York. 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