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After a course record 63 on Thursday at Royal Troon, Phil Mickelson came out Friday morning and continued to dominate the course and the field at the 145th Open Championship.

Mickelson stuck to his game plan on the front nine on Friday, hitting irons off of the tee and avoiding trouble, and taking advantage of the times when he had shorter irons in hand. There's no hole on Royal Troon where a short iron is guaranteed to be in your hand more than the Postage Stamp, the famed par-3 eighth hole that measures only 125 yards.

After a pair of early birdies in the first seven holes, Mickelson stepped to the tee on the eighth and came up mere inches short of a hole-in-one.

That tee shot shows just how dialed in he is with the irons this week, especially as the wind has yet to kick up and pose any problems. Between the tee shot on No. 8 on Friday and his putt on 18 on Thursday, Mickelson is a grand total of three inches from having shot a major championship record 62 and making a hole-in-one on one of golf's most famous par 3s.

He'll just have to settle for 11 under par through his first 26 holes at The Open as a consolation prize.