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. Andrew Cashner 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. Caleb Joseph Jersey . The Braves optioned outfielder Jose Constanza to Triple-A Gwinnett. As expected, the Braves also called up right-hander Julio Teheran from Gwinnett to start Sundays game and optioned backup catcher J. Pedro Alvarez Jersey .Y. - DeMarre Carroll felt as though he couldnt miss in the second quarter as he outscored the Brooklyn Nets 14-13 all by himself. http://www.theoriolesteamshop.com/Orioles-Dylan-Bundy-Kids-Jersey/ . - Jerome Verrier scored the winner 8:24 into overtime and Louis-Phillip Guindon stopped 46 shots as the Drummondville Voltigeurs edged the host Val-dOr Foreurs 4-3 on Friday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff action.Lewis Hamilton is dealing with the poor start in his attempt to claim a third consecutive title like a true champion, according to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. The Briton has struggled due to reliability issues, poor starts and contact with other drivers during the opening three rounds of the F1 season and has yet to trouble team-mate Nico Rosberg, who has sealed an impressive hat-trick of victories.Rosberg is already 36 points clear in the Drivers Championship ahead of this weekends Russian GP but Hamilton, who admits he is out of jokers in 2016, has kept calm thus far with 18 races remaining. And Wolff says that he is impressed by the way both Mercedes drivers have handled their contrasting starts to the campaign, noting the adversity Hamilton has faced.Both drivers are in a good place mentally, the Mercedes head of motorsport said. Nico is on great form but keeping his feet firmly on the ground. Russian GP on Sky The Russian GP is live and exclusive on Sky Sports - and there are a host of ways you can watch it. Lewis would have every right to feel disheartened by his start to the season - but he is calm and confident, handling adversity like a true champion.Hamilton had to start the Chinese GP from the back of the grid due to a power unit failure in qualifying and Mercedes have confirmed that the MGU-H has now been repaired, with an insulation error thought to be the problem, and the unit will travel to Russia as a spare. Sky Sports F1’s Natalie Pinkham joined Lewis Hamilton for a live Facebook chat following his return from the Chinese GP The Sochi Autodrom has been a happy hunting ground for Hamilton, however, winning both of the previous grands prix at the venue, and he remains confident that his season will soon start to improve. Colby Rasmus Jersey. e said: There was plenty going through my head after China, as youd expect. But, after all these years, experience has taught me to stay calm and keep pushing forwards when I get knocked back. Ive been here before a few times now. Russian GP tyre choices Mercedes have opted for softer tyres than Ferrari A lot can happen over the next 18 race weekends and I have the utmost confidence in this team. But adversity is part of the journey: it brings us closer, makes us stronger and I know that together well bounce back, so Im confident of better weekends to come.There are lots of positives to carry into the next battle. If nothing else, I know after these first few races that I can still overtake! Rosberg extended his winning streak to six in Shanghai but as well as fearing a comeback from his team-mate, he also believes Ferrari and Red Bull are hot on the Silver Arrows tail.I would never have expected the first three weekends to go the way they have, he added. Ive made the most of my opportunities and I have a bit of an advantage in the points right now - but we are only three races down and it would just take one bad weekend for that gap to disappear.Most consecutive F1 winsLewis is still the benchmark for me as he is the current champion, Ferrari havent shown what they can do yet and Red Bull also look like theyre getting stronger, so its going to be a good battle and Im looking forward to that. I wouldnt have it any other way.Dont miss the F1 Report on Wednesday at 8:30pm on Sky Sports F1 for a preview of the Russian Grand Prix. Natalie Pinkham is joined in the studio by Marc Priestley and Dominic Harlow. Also See: Whens the Russian GP on Sky? 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