And one of them can be somewhat imposing.
Mickelson, who won his third Masters 2 months ago, but last year at Bethpage finished second in this major for a record fifth time, became the prime-time story.
ESPN thanks him for his support.
After not making a birdie on Thursday, the first time since the first round in 2007 that had happened to him, Lefty went out this time and shot 31 on the front side, which even included a bogey at No. 9. That was his lowest opening nine for an Open. He toured the back nine in 1-under (a bird and eight straight pars), for 66.
Great stuff, from someone who's done things like this before.
"I'm in a good spot," said Mickelson, who shot a 75 on Thursday. "I don't look at other players. I look at par. It's the only tournament where if you can just stay around par, you're going to be in it on Sunday. It doesn't matter what's going on.
"I thought something in the 60s was out there, and it got me in contention. I felt like I had a lot of easy pars. I wasn't overstressing the entire round. I just got hot with the putter. [The greens] aren't Augusta smooth. The big thing for me was keeping the ball below the hole. Then you can hit it firm enough to hold the line . . .
"I don't want [it] to end. I want to keep playing. My mood is a lot cheerier [now]. I look forward to the weekend. It'll get more challenging."
He birdied three of his first four holes, and carded six in all. And he's very much lurking.
"I was surprised to be under par at a U.S. Open golf course, no doubt about it," said McDowell, who bogeyed his last hole, the ninth, which allowed a lot of people to survive the cut because of the 10-shot rule. "There definitely are some chances out there, but the second you get out of position, this course will beat you up.
