At press time, Greg Norman sits atop the leaderboard at Birkdale.

I’m a Phil Mickelson fan, but when I saw his British Open odds improve to 12-1 just before things got underway at Royal Birkdale, I was perplexed. This just isn’t his kind of event – and we saw proof of that in Thursday’s opening round when Lefty shot a 79 to sit 10 strokes off the pace. His new odds? 80-1. Worse, former second favorite Ernie Els finished with an 80 and is now 100-1.

Timing is everything. The weather in the morning was brutal, but then the rain tapered off, making life much easier for those who teed off later in the day. That group includes Sergio Garcia, who holds steady as the 8-1 favorite after shooting a 72.

The leaders at a 1-under 69 are Rocco Mediate (20-1), Robert Allenby (14-1) and Graeme McDowell (10-1). Adam Scott is the new second favorite behind Garcia at 9-1 after firing a 70, matching fellow Aussie Greg Norman (66-1).

The British Open doesn’t go until next week at Royal Birkdale, but Phil Mickelson is already in trouble. Lefty shot an even-par 71 in the first round of the warm-up tournament in Scotland, seven strokes behind the leaders. Lefty has slipped to 14-1 at press time to win the Open; Ernie Els is also 14-1 after going 1-over on Thursday.

With the top two names in the Open field struggling, Sergio Garcia becomes the favorite at 8-1. He’s already had a successful warm-up, finishing second at the European Open last week. Garcia also finished second at the 2007 British Open when he lost a playoff to Padraig Harrington.

Harrington is 16-1; he finished tied for 17th at the European Open after hitting a 75 in the final round. The biggest name on the leaderboard after one round at Loch Lomond is Angel Cabrera, at 6-under. The 2007 U.S. Open winner is 40-1 to win at Royal Birkdale.