Phil Mickelson's latest bid to topple Tiger Woods as world number one starts at Loch Lomond on Thursday, but he looked as though he had just been in a fight this morning.
On the eve of the Barclays Scottish Open the Masters champion spent his entire press conference wiping blood away from above his right eyebrow.
Mickelson joked that he had got into "a little tiff" with another player before explaining: "I just scratched myself."
The main purpose of his two-week trip to Britain is to win the Open at St Andrews on Sunday week, but finishing first or second this weekend should enable him to unseat Woods, who has held the top spot for the past five years.
Three years ago Mickelson lost a play-off to Frenchman Gregory Havret and he stated: "I always look forward to these two weeks and it would mean a lot to win here."
He insists the number one position is "not something I think about," but after more than 250 weeks just below Woods in the rankings to get there at long last will surely mean an awful lot.
When asked where it would rank amongst his achievements in the game, though, the 40-year-old said he did not want to deal in hypothetical situations and would answer only on Sunday afternoon if it happens.
When asked where it would rank amongst his achievements in the game, though, the 40-year-old said he did not want to deal in hypothetical situations and would answer only on Sunday afternoon if it happens.
Mickelson's Open record is poor - his only top 10 finish was his third place at Royal Troon in 2004, just a stroke behind Todd Hamilton and Ernie Els - but he remembers being on the leaderboard at some stage in each of the three championships he has played at the Home of Golf.
In 1995, however, he ended up 39th, in 2000 he was 11th and five years ago he came only 60th.
Woods, of course, won those last two events by eight and five strokes respectively.
"In the three Opens I played Tiger has won (twice) and John Daly the third. Length is a factor - the further you're able to carry the ball the more bunkers you are able to eliminate.
"One of the things I've been working on in my preparation is trying to swing the club head faster. I will be swinging much harder than I would normally in a number of Open Championships where you're trying to keep the ball in a tighter fairway."
Anthony Kim, third in The Masters in April and third in the current US Ryder Cup table, is out of next week's Open Championship.
So is former US PGA champion David Toms .
Heading for St Andrews instead will be fellow Americans Ricky Barnes and Davis Love.
Kim, the world number 11, has not played since the start of May, when he went in for surgery on a thumb injury and was told he could expect to be out of action for 10 to 12 weeks. That was nine weeks ago.
The 25-year-old played on for a while earlier this season knowing he had a torn ligament for the past few months, but said: "Compensating for it was starting to cause other issues, including a sore shoulder."
Kim's top priority is to regain fitness for the Ryder Cup. He was a star of their victory two years ago, thrashing Sergio Garcia in the top singles.
Toms has played the last four weeks in the States, but has been battling with a shoulder injury for months.
Barnes and Love come in as the highest non-exempt players on the world rankings - they are 64th and 68th respectively - having missed out by two and five strokes at the qualifying event in Texas in May.
First reserve now is Australian Jason Day and if two more players drop out England's Brian Davis, twice a runner-up in America this season, will receive a call-up.
Love's reprieve means the 46-year-old will extend his run of playing every Open Championship since his debut in 1987.
His best finishes were fourth at Sandwich in 2003 and fifth at Royal Troon the following year, while the 1997 US PGA winner was sixth in the US Open at Pebble Beach only three weeks ago.
Despite the enormous contribution made by the non-GB & Ireland players on the European team, the Ryder Cup has only once taken place in Continental Europe.
But, not before time, that will change in 2018 with France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands all vying to follow in the footsteps of Valderrama which played host in 1997.
The French bid, presented by the French Golf Federation (FFGolf), was submitted at the Senat in Paris on April 29th and was brought into sharper focus at last weekend's Open de France.
Some early seeds were sown when French golfer Gregory Havret wore the France 2018 bid logo on his bag as he outscored playing partner Tiger Woods to finish runner-up at the recent US Open.
But the full weight of the campaign to get the Ryder Cup to Le Golf National was really felt in Paris as a host of Europe's top players descended on France.
The French are using the slogan: Ryder Cup 2018 France: Passion, Prestige, Panache and their bid comprises these key elements.
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland -- The winner of the 150th British Open will earn $1.29 million, about a $60,000 increase from the previous year.
A total purse of $7.3 million -- will provide the runner-up with $759,000 pounds and $496,000 for third place at the event being held at St. Andrews from July 15-18.
Royal and Ancient Club chief executive Peter Dawson says organizers have taken into account the pound's weakened position against the dollar and the euro.
"The Open Championship sits at the forefront of world golf and it is appropriate that our prize fund reflects that position in the game," Dawson said Tuesday. "Over the last 18 months we have had to take account of the pound's weakened position against the U.S. dollar and the euro, and we have increased our prize money accordingly."
The first Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course to be built in New Zealand has been created around the unique natural features of the site rather than transforming the landscape to meet a uniform golf course design. The course fits the landscape with ease, and the backdrop of Lake Taupo provides a magnificent setting. Jack Nicklaus on the Kinloch golf course development: “The Kinloch site has the views and all the elevation that you need for a great golf course. It will be a very special and enjoyable golf course.”