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Phil Mickelson says it is too early to talk about winning The Open, despite retaining top spot at Royal Troon. Mickelson came agonisingly close to breaking major history on his to way to opening up a three-shot lead after day one, before following that up with a two-under 69 in wet conditions on Friday morning to set the clubhouse target.The world No 19 birdied two of his opening seven holes before going inches away from a hole-in-one at the par-three eighth, the infamous Postage Stamp, briefly extending his advantage to five. Open on Sky Ways to watch The Open live on Sky Mickelson then bounced back from a first blemish in 49 holes at the 12th to post a birdie-two at the 14th, only to reduce his cushion at the top of the leaderboard with a dropped shot at the 15th. I thought it was a good round to back up the low round yesterday, Mickelson told reporters. I made one or two bad swings that led to bogeys, but for the most part I kept the ball in play and played kind of stress-free golf.I feel like if I have to get one in the fairway, Ive got a club and a shot that I could do fairly easily and consistently, and that has led to me playing well in the elements today. Mickelson mixed four birdies with two bogeys during his second round Yesterdays round was a big round for me to ultimately keep pace or set the pace, but to not lose too much ground because I felt like these coming three days are the days that Id be best prepared for.The 46-year-old saw his clubhouse advantage cut to just one stroke after Henrik Stensons second-round 65 lifted the Swede to nine under, with Soren Kjeldsen moving to within three shots of the lead thanks to a three-under 68. Mickelson hasnt won a tournament since lifting the Claret Jug at Muirfield in 2013 and admits theres still a long way to go before he can consider the possibility of a sixth major title.Weve got a lot of work to do, Mickelson added. Its too far off to start thinking like that, but certainly there is nothing more that I would love to add than another Claret Jug. The American could become the oldest Open winner in 150 years with victory this week I dont feel the pressure like probably a lot of players do to try to win because Ive already won it, and that takes a lot of pressure off.Im starting to hit some shots like I did ten years ago and starting to play some of my best golf again. I dont see why theres any reason why I cant continue that not just this week but for years.Meanwhile, pre-tournament favourite Dustin Johnson is hoping to force his way back into contention for the title on Saturday after three birdies in his final four holes saw him finish on two under, eight shots off the lead. Dustin Johnson is hoping to battle his way into contention over the weekend I went into the gorse on seven, had to re-tee, and same on 11 - hit a good shot but it swirled out of bounds, the 32-year-old American said. Other than that I played really well.Those holes on the back nine are tough, but to birdie 15, 16 and 17 I feel I got a little momentum. I felt like I swung it really well and hit a lot of great shots, so Im looking forward to the weekend.Tomorrow I am going to have to go out and shoot a good score, for sure. I know Ill be off pretty early in front of the leaders. Ive got to go out and post a number. Ive got 36 holes to see how good I am.Watch The Open throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports - your proud new home of The Open Also See: Latest leaderboard Ways to watch The Open The 145th Open LIVE Golf live on Sky Sports Custom St. Louis Cardinals Jerseys . -- Two nights after losing to the Eastern Conferences worst team, the Phoenix Coyotes handled the best. Lou Brock Jersey . - For years William Gay kept quiet. http://www.authenticcardinalspro.com/car...coleman-jersey/. - A late-game interception by defensive back Malcolm Butler saved the Super Bowl for the New England Patriots. Albert Pujols Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan looks at what the Blue Jackets may do to build upon last seasons success to return to the playoffs again next year. Steve Carlton Jersey . Wayne and Cindy Tuck of Ilderton, Ont., closed out round-robin play earlier in the day with a 7-3 win over Finland but needed a win over Austria to reach the final eight.TORONTO -- A champion humbled in the cage. Personal turmoil. For Georges St-Pierre, "his worst nightmare." "I have never been so messed up mentally in my life," he said. That was in 2007, six years before the Canadian mixed martial arts star found himself in the spotlight again after a controversial win at UFC 167 Saturday and his revelation that he needs time away from the sport for unexplained personal reasons. St-Pierre, the face of mixed martial arts, is an elite fighter with the reputation as a model citizen outside the cage. But he is no stranger to unwanted drama. At UFC 69 in Houston in April 2007, in his first UFC welterweight title defence, he was knocked out by 10-1 underdog Matt (The Terror) Serra. UFC boss Dana White called it "probably the biggest upset in MMA in a long time." St-Pierre later spoke of upheaval in his life. "I had a lot of personal issues," St. Pierre said. "A lot of stuff was going wrong." It turns out his father was suffering from a brain ailment and a young cousin was in a coma. Fast forward to today and the 32-year-old from Montreal, who won his title back from Serra in 2008 and went on to become the sports pay-per-view king, is back in the headlines as pressures outside the cage take their toll. A split decision over No. 1 contender Johny (Bigg Rigg) Hendricks in Las Vegas drew fire from White, who demanded an investigation into the judging by the Nevada State Athletic Commission The UFC president wanted an immediate rematch. St-Pierre, who said he left his "soul in the Octagon" against Hendricks, wanted time away to attend to personal issues. The champion would not detail what was going on "I need to think. I have stuff going on in my life ... This is my personal life," he told the post-fight news conference. "I cannot speak to you about this. Youre a reporter, I know your job is to make thing public. "But I have a personal life, I keep personal some of my stuff." That has always been St-Pierres way. "Georges is very conservative about his personal life. He keeps everything inside," friend and fellow UFC fighter Patrick Cote said back in 2007. GSPs private life is now headline material again, thanks in part to his opening a Pandoras box Saturday night after his controversial win. He essentially said he had a secret, which set all sorts of people trying to find out what. A TMZ report said the champion is dealing with a family illness and a personal issue. An email to St-Pierres management asking for reaction to the report was not immediately answered. White told The Canadian Press on Monday night that St-Pierre had told him the report was not true. After meeting the champion privately Saturday after the fight, White said St-Pierres issues "arent as bad as he thinks they are." "Yeah, well get through this," he added. In St-Pierres rural Quebec hometown of St-Isidore, south of Montreal, locals said Monday that the champion has nothing left to prove. Michelle Dubuc says she hired a teenage St-Pierre years ago to work at her St-Isidore farm, tending to vegetables and herbs. Dubuc said she has known his family for a long time, adding that the champs father once worked for her dad. "Georges is a family guy," Dubuc said as she enjoyed a happy-hour beer at the towns local sports bar. "I dont think money is important for him... Hes a simple, nice guy and he loves his people in St-Isidore." And St-Pierres father insisted that rumours he has heard about his son arent true, although he would not elaborate. "Everything is OK at the moment for him," Roland St-Pierre told The Canadian Press in a brief exchange at his home. "There are things that came out that are not even true." The elder St-Pierre would only add that his son will determine his own future.dddddddddddd. "If he takes a break, it will be him who decides and it will be OK either way," he said, declining to discuss the matter further. "He will do the right thing." St-Pierre is very close to his family. One of the first things he did with his UFC winnings was pay off his parents mortgage. Family issues weigh heavy on his shoulders. In the wake of losing his title in 2007, St-Pierre conceded he had more than fighting on his mind before meeting Serra. "People were dying. I had to go to the hospital at night," he said at the time. "I was sleeping like maybe two, three hours a night when I was training for that fight. I was sleeping with one eye open because I thought I had to go drive my father to hospital and stuff like that. "I was very worried about a lot of things in my life. Not only this, I had a lot of other stuff going on." Back then, St. Pierre said he didnt talk about his family issues because he didnt want to intrude on their privacy. But it was more than just illness in the family. St. Pierre said he lost his way, focusing on PR more than his training. "I forgot who I was, what was my No. 1 priority," he said back then. "I didnt realize how lucky I was, to have this opportunity to be world champion," he added. "Once I lost, I realized all that stuff and it made me regret a lot of things." Former manager Stephane Patry said at the time that St-Pierre stumbled outside the ring. "He didnt train as much as he should, because he was too busy doing other things than training and fighting," Patry said. "He won the title, hes a kid, he was 25 years old," Patry added, when pressed. "Lets just say he partied a little bit too much." St-Pierre subsequently retooled his organization and entourage. He has not lost since, with the Hendricks fight -- and its apparent surrounding personal pressures -- his closest call. In the wake of the Hendricks fight, the Nevada commission issued a medical suspension to St-Pierre until Jan. 10, with no contact in training until Dec. 17. Hendricks, whose face showed almost no traces that he had been in a fight, was suspended until Dec. 17 with no contact before Dec. 8. But he was also told to get orthopedic clearance on his right knee or else face a ban until May 17. St-Pierre himself was all smiles Monday. The champion tweeted a picture of himself in his Las Vegas hotel with four friends including his mentor, former fighter Kristof (The French Hurricane) Midoux. "Good morning from Vegas - Feeling much better now! Merci a tous pour votre support incroyable!!!" St-Pierre tweeted. He wore a big grin and dark glasses to conceal facial damage from the fight. St-Pierre received a basic purse of US$400,000 while Hendricks got $50,000, missing out on a matching win bonus, according to the Nevada state commission. The UFC awarded both fighters an additional $50,000 as a fight of the night bonus. The purse information only tells part of the financial story, however, since the UFC does not reveal all of its pay figures. St-Pierres paycheque would be the millions given he is the UFCs largest draw and gets a cut of the lucrative pay-per-view revenue. Hendricks (15-2) would also have made considerably more than the posted figure. Fellow Montreal welterweight Rory MacDonald made a basic purse of $50,000 for his decision loss to (Ruthless) Robbie Lawler, who picked up $166,000 including a win bonus of $83,000. MacDonald missed out on a win bonus of $50,000. Former light-heavyweight champion Rashad Evans picked up a basic purse of $250,000, including a $125,000 win bonus, for his first-round TKO of Chael Sonnen ($100,000). 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