Erratic Mickelson shows his resiliency
Lefty fights back after poor start
Phil Mickelson usually does his best to avoid moments like the one that confronted him seven holes into Thursday's opening round of the Masters Tournament.
His natural inclination when challenged on the course is to go for it, be it off the tee, from wooded areas or on the green.
Yet already 5-over par and having just punched his ball from one trouble spot to another on the par-5 eighth hole, the two-time Masters champion's brain overruled the testosterone flooding the rest of his body.
"I decided I didn't want to shoot myself out of it," Mickelson said.
He went on to birdie No. 8 and played even-par golf the rest of his round. His 4-over-par 76 equaled the worst round of his Masters career but left him within five shots of all but the top players on the leaderboard heading into today's second round.
"Even par's in the hunt" after the second round, Mickelson said. "I go out and shoot 68, and I'm right there. And there's some birdies to be had out there."
Mickelson will need to do more than tweak a few parts of his game to mount a charge today. He hit only six fairways and eight greens in the first round after averaging nine fairways hit and 12 greens in his four rounds a year ago, when he won his second green jacket in three years.
As erratic as he was swinging the club, he blamed poor putting for his inflated score. He missed three putts inside 10 feet early in his round, making three bogeys and a double bogey in the first seven holes.
Mickelson's putter plagued him again at the famed Amen Corner. He three-putted for bogey at the par-3 12th hole and again, this time for par, at the par-5 13th.
He recovered late, though, making a 4-foot birdie putt at No. 15, a 30-footer for birdie at No. 16 and a 15-foot par save at No. 17.
"Phil didn't play as well as he would've liked, but he stayed pretty firm on the back nine," said playing partner Richie Ramsay, the 2006 U.S. Amateur champion. "That kind of resolve just shows why he's won twice out here."
Mickelson's resiliency is seen often at Augusta. He has rallied from over-par starts to finish 12th or better three times in his career, including a third-place finish in 2003.
Mickelson hinted his game might not be as sharp this week as it has been in recent years. He didn't play last weekend in Houston, the first time since 1998 he skipped the tournament the week before the Masters.
A schedule change on the PGA Tour is to blame.
Atlanta's AT&T Classic, formerly known as the BellSouth Classic, moved from the week before the Masters to mid-May this year in hopes of better weather.
The tournament was a favorite tune-up for Mickelson, who parlayed BellSouth victories into a 10th-place Masters finish in 2005 and a win at Augusta last April.
"I would have loved to have played the week before like I have in years past over in Atlanta," Mickelson said during a news conference Tuesday.
"I want that competitive environment. So I am a little bit nervous about having not played in a competition and having not been in contention in a little while heading into the tournament."
Reach Adam Van Brimmer at (404) 589-8424.
