Ben Dirs
BBC Sport at Royal Troon

If you thought 'High Noon at Troon' was hyperbole, maybe you're changing your mind. The first four holes have been quite thrilling. Mickelson's short game is almost miraculous.

Colm S: Great to have characters like Beef. Best beard in sport? 

A great question Colm.

Though perhaps WG Grace, Joe Ledley, Moeen Ali and others might also stake a claim?

Let us know tweet #bbcsport.

Image source, Getty Images

"I'm enjoying this..."

Image source, AP

"So am I..."

Image source, AP

Yes, there is another man playing alongside Andrew Johnston and Bill Haas also is playing some competent links golf. 

He trickles one from the edge of the fifth green towards the pin, but then takes two putts to down it. Bogey for Haas.

Beef's birdie streak also comes to an end as he two-putts for par. The first just didn't quite have the legs. But he now has a two-shot lead on fourth.

A double fist pump. That's when you know it's serious. Phil Mickelson drains his putt for eagle on four. That's three under though four holes and exactly what any player dreams of when contending for a major.

He leads briefly by a stroke but Henrik Stenson has four feet for his birdie. He's poised over it and just dabbles it home.

It's looking like a re-run of the duel in the sun. Minus the sun of course.

Image source, .

Thomas Pieters has left the 11th with a guintuple-bogey as the curse of the Railway hole strikes again.

We are hearing the Belgium snapped his club on his knee and threw the remains into a bush, after a shot on the fairway.

Before that hole he had been one-under and he leaves four over for the tournament,

Louis Oosthuizen and David Duval are among a select few to go five over on the hardest hole on the course this week.

The fourth hole is a birdie must as I say. Players are getting at it, it's given up 31 birdies and three eagles already today.

Henrik Stenson from the fairway, this will be a big iron. Good strike but it's a tad short of the green, he will need an up and down for his birdie.

Over to you Phil Mickelson. Another long iron, using the wind from the right to almost feed this into the putting surface. It pitches on the target area and runs closer to the flag. A real eagle chance is set up, a certain birdie for Mickelson. That's how you hit them.

Successive bogeys for Rory McIlroy sees him freefalling back out of the top six. 

The world number four gives himself a shot at saving par on the 12th with a tidy chip on to the green, but puts his seven-foot putt narrowly right and has to tap in for bogey.

Des Smyth
Former Ryder Cup vice captain on BBC Radio 5 live

This is the time to get birdies. I know the top two players are way out in front, but if you want a big cheque and big ranking points then you have to keep going for it.

Third gets £433,00, fourth £337,000.

Andrew Johnston with his third shot at the par-five fourth pops one up on to the green for a back-to-back birdie chance.

All of three feet out and Beef nails it. Swoosh. Straight in the cup without touching the sides. He's up into third on his own, six shots off the leader.

Playing partner Bill Haas makes par, but it's Beef who takes the the plaudits.

Rory McIlroy finds thick rough from his tee shot at the 12th. He's just not hitting fairways today.

The Northern Irishman was flying through the front nine with four birdies, but is making hard work of this run to the clubhouse.

I can confirm Henrik Stenson has done an Andy Murray/Tim Henman.

He's munching away on a sportsman's snack...

Image source, Get

This is the start we wanted I'd say. Two men just giving one another dig after dig.

Henrik Stenson from 15-20ft with a right-to-left break and it's dead weight, in the front of the cup. Dreamy stuff.

Mickelson will birdie also will he? No. From eight feet the ball breaks more than he had expected and his misses right. Advantage Stenson.

Stenson is now seven clear of Andrew Johnston in third. The top group head to four, a hole where birdie is a must have today.

Rory McIlroy's drop on the last means we still have no one on these fair links who can boast four under for the day. 

Image source, PA

That will be a first bogey of the day for world number four Rory McIlroy, unable to save par after hacking around in the rough stuff, despite avoiding the dreaded railway tracks.

He guided it back on to the green with his fourth shot, but there was never any danger of it dropping and he has to stroke in from a couple of feet away for five on the par-four 11th. 

Henrik Stenson started playing golf as a 12-year-old back in his homeland. Some 28 years on it's fair to say he's done OK in life.

His approach to the third green is stellar too, a real loft from the fairway and it drops from the sky to within 15ft. Phil Mickelson watched on and decides he wants more, just eight feet left. Another sublime strike from Lefty.

Beef just can't help but smile, can he? Another tee shot on to the fairway, another beaming bearded grin for Johnston.

Living. The. Dream.

Jon Primett: Medal card in hand, played 1st 6 holes 6-under, then took an 8 (+4) on 7th and head completely went, finished round +12.

Bryson deSutherland: Butlins 2015 mini golf - 5up 5 to play, lose on a playoff. Lost money and bragging rights.

Rory McIlroy finds the long stuff again with his tee shot and punches one into another patch of unfavourable rough with his second stroke.

Through 10 holes he's hit just 38% of fairways, though he has made 90% of greens in regulation today. Can he save this one?

Doesn't look like it, that one skids off the green and down the slope to the outskirts of the putting surface - a fair distance from the flag.