SANDWICH, England — Phil Mickelson made an impressive charge Sunday at the one major championship that's always been a struggle for him.
But Darren Clarke showed no signs of fading away at the British Open.
On another windy, wet and wild day at Royal St. George's, Clarke made the turn with a two-stroke lead over Mickelson and was nine holes away from giving little Northern Ireland another victory in one of golf's signature events.
Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell have won the last two U.S. Opens. Now, it's the 42-year-old Clarke, who came into the week as an afterthought next to his homeland's rising stars, making a bid for his first major title.
Heading to the back nine, it looked like a two-man race. No one else but Mickelson was within four strokes of Clarke as he headed to the inward side.
Beginning the day five strokes behind Clarke, Mickelson surged up the leaderboard with a brilliant start in gusts of more than 30 mph.
Lefty made three birdies in the first six holes, pumping his fist as the ball kept dropping in the cup. Then he rolled in a 25-footer for eagle at the seventh, moving into a share of the lead.
Clarke didn't falter. Coming along four groups later in the final pairing, the Ulsterman rolled in a 20-foot eagle of his own at No. 7, reclaiming a two-stroke edge at 7 under.
Mickelson went out in 30 and made another birdie at the 10th, then was bitten by a familiar bugaboo: a 2-footer lipped out at the 11th to give him his first bogey.
Dustin Johnson and Thomas Bjorn were both at 3 under making the turn. Rickie Fowler was five off the lead, posting nine straight pars on the front side as the leaders began to pull away from the young American.
Mickelson, who has three Masters titles, one PGA Championship and five runner-up finishes at the U.S. Open, has never been much of a factor on this side of the Atlantic. In 17 previous Open appearances, he managed only one top-10 finish.
He came into the week saying he wanted to forget his past woes and just act like a British Open rookie. That attitude was giving him one of his most impressive performances, but it might not be enough to catch the steady leader.
Clarke kept rolling in clutch putts, getting out of trouble when he needed to and seemed to have the wacky British weather on his side.
Storms rolled in and out, producing drenching showers one moment, bright sunshine the next. It wasn't usual to hit a tee shot in the rain and finish that same hole needing sunglasses.