LOCH LOMOND, Scotland, July 7: Phil Mickelson birdied four of the last six holes for a four-under-par 67 to stay in touch with the Scottish Open first-round lead on Thursday.

The 2004 U.S. Masters champion holed out from 15 feet at the 16th and also at the last to finish three strokes behind joint pacesetters Angel Cabrera of Argentina and Britain’s Stuart Little.

“My game is certainly looking okay,” world number four Mickelson told reporters after mixing seven birdies with three bogeys on an overcast but relatively calm day at Loch Lomond.

“I had a couple of shots I was lucky to get away but the seven birdies I made more than offset that.

“I was very pleased with my opening round. The goal was to play very well with the last couple of majors of the year to come, and I’ve done all that I can to get ready for this week.”

Cabrera reeled off seven birdies in a blemish-free 64 to set the early pace before being caught at the top of the leaderboard by Englishman Little.

“I really like this course and I can’t understand why I haven’t done better here,” said Cabrera. “I don’t think I have been in the top 10 at Loch Lomond before.

“It’s been a good spell for me since winning at Wentworth, even though I haven’t played quite as well as I did during the BMW Championship.

“But I’m still hitting the ball solidly and my long-iron play was very good today.”

Paul Lawrie, the 1999 British Open champion, fired a 65 to tie for third with fellow Briton Lee Westwood and South Africa’s Richard Sterne with U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman among a group of six on 66.

Among the other big names, double U.S. Masters winner Jose Maria Olazabal and British duo Colin Montgomerie and Luke Donald produced matching 68s while twice champion Ernie Els and world number seven Adam Scott of Australia returned 70s.

“I played okay today,” said world number three Els, bidding this week for an unprecedented third Scottish Open title. “I made a couple of soft bogeys but I feel everything’s okay.

“I putted better today but they were not going in. However the strike is better. I haven’t putted very well recently, and I didn’t putt well at the U.S. Open,” added the South African, who tied for 15th in last month’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst.

Retief Goosen, the 2001 champion at Loch Lomond, battled back from a dismal front nine of four-over 40 with four late birdies to card a level-par 71.

First round scores:

64 - Angel Carbrera (ARG), Stuart Little (ENG)

65 - Lee Westwood (ENG), Richard Sterne (RSA), Paul Lawrie (SCO)

66 - Henrik Stenson (SWE), Gregory Bourdy (FRA), Nick Dougherty (ENG), Thongchai Jaidee (THA), Tom Lehman (USA), Miguel-Angel Martin (ESP)

67 - David Drysdale (SCO), Peter Hedblom (SWE), Simon Khan (ENG), Jonathan Lomas (ENG), Miguel Angel Jiminez (ESP), Kenneth Ferrie (ENG), Phil Mickelson (USA), Darren Clarke (NIR), Greg Owen (ENG), Maarten Lafeber (NED)

68 - Richard Finch (ENG), Mark Roe (ENG), Stephen Gallacher (SCO), Luke Donald (ENG), Jose-Maria Olazabal (SPA), Gary Orr (SCO), Alistair Forsyth (SCO), Colin Montgomerie, Johan Skold (SWE), Martin Maritz (RSA), Ricardo Gonzalez (ARG), Klas Eriksson (SWE), Robert Allenby (AUS), David Carter (ENG)

69 - David Griffiths (ENG), Chris Kelly (SCO), Miles Tunnicliff (ENG), Neil Cheetham (ENG), Pierre Fulke (SWE), Anthony Wall (ENG), Francois Delamontagne (FRA), Richard Bland (ENG), Peter Gustafsson (SWE), Ian Poulter (ENG), Pelle Edberg (SWE), Robert-Jan Derksen (NED), Marcus Fraser (AUS), Terry Price (AUS), Anders Hansen (DEN), Oliver Wilson (ENG), Jarmo Sandelin (SWE), Niclas Fasth (SWE), Christopher Hanell (SWE), David Lynn (ENG), Rolf Muntz (NED)

70 - Adam Scott (AUS), Ernie Els (RSA), Mikko Ilonen (FIN), Simon Wakefield (ENG), Fredrik Andersson Hed (SWE), David Frost (RSA), Robert Coles (ENG), Tim Clark (RSA), Jose Manuel Lara (SPA), Philip Archer (ENG), Franceso Molinari (ITA), Joakim Bakstrom (SWE), Eduardo Romero (ARG), Philip Golding (ENG), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA), Garry Houston (WAL), Henrik Nystrom (SWE), Matthew King (ENG), Marc Cayeux (ZIM), Costantino Rocca (ITA).—Agencies