Paige Spiranac kicks off British Open with Phil Mickelson ‘eye contact’ joke

Paige Spiranac kicked off the 151st Open Championship this week by cracking a joke at the expense of one of golf’s biggest stars.

Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, the “Playing A Round” podcast host, 30, shared a photo of Phil Mickelson taking in a practice round at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, where the 2013 British Open champion displayed a wide smile during a conversation.

“How men look when they are trying their hardest to maintain eye contact with me,” Spiranac quipped.

Several of Spiranac’s followers then weighed in on the remark, with one joking “it can be challenging” with the blond bombshell.

“I would definitely not be able to maintain eye contact!” another exclaimed.

The post, which has since amassed over one million views on Twitter, was shared the same day Spiranac spoke openly about social media comments she receives.

“Obviously I love the supportive, loving comments but something that makes me really happy is when you guys go absolutely crazy in the comments and say just the funniest things,” the longtime golf influencer expressed Wednesday in an Instagram “Ask me anything.”

“I don’t care if it’s outrageous or over-the-top, I love seeing those comments and I think a lot of people follow me because my comments section is so good. So, I encourage you guys to say the most outrageous, fun things in my comments, it does not offend me at all, even the mean, bad comments don’t offend me, so you don’t have to worry about that, I just want my comments section to be a place where you can say whatever you want and not be worried about someone being outraged by it.”

Elsewhere on her social media platforms, Spiranac revealed her picks for this year’s British Open, which began Thursday.

Though Mickelson, 53, didn’t make her cut, Spiranac named Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Dustin Johnson and defending champion Cam Smith among her selections.

She correctly predicted Smith, 29, to win last year’s tournament.