Phil Mickelson Struggles to 76 in Opening Round of Masters Defence

Apr 05, 07:05 PM

Current Headlines: By EDDIE PELLS

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - After watching Adam Scott go over the ninth green with his approach shot, Phil Mickelson tested the wind, conferred with his caddie and exchanged one club for another.

All that work, and his shot ended up 45 feet short of the hole. Mickelson saved par there, but that scene typified Thursday's opening round for the defending champion and the many who would like to unseat him at the Masters.

"The wind is making it more difficult," Mickelson said after a 4-over 76 left him seven strokes behind leader Justin Rose. "It's because it's a swirling wind."

The unpredictable weather also wreaked havoc on Ernie Els, who shot 78 and, like Mickelson, found himself more in danger of missing the cut than taking the lead.

"It was a difficult day," Els said. "A very tough day. I played some better stuff on the back nine and will try to work ourselves back into it. I don't quite know how, but we're going to give it a try."

Still on the course at 2 under through 15 holes was Brett Wetterich. His Ryder Cup teammates Vaughn Taylor and Zach Johnson were among a big group at 1-under 71.

Also in that group were Tim Clark and 2002 PGA Championship winner Rich Beem, whose birdie-eagle on 12 and 13 brought some of the very few loud cheers from a subdued gallery at Augusta National.

"The green speed and the wind - those combinations make it that much tougher," Beem said. "Factor in the windy conditions with these big slopes and it gets tough real quick."

Mike Weir, the 2003 champion from Bright's Grove, Ont., carded a 3-over 75. Fellow Canadian Stephen Ames of Calgary was 4-over through 15 holes.

Tiger Woods, in search of his fifth green jacket and third straight major, teed off early in the afternoon and knocked his first shot long down the middle on the way to the first of six straight pars to start the day.

He made the turn at 1 over - not great, though anyone who remembers his historic first win here 10 years ago also remembers he shot 40 on that front nine.

Either way, Woods was better off than Mickelson, who will have his work cut out to avoid becoming the first defending champion to miss the cut since Weir in 2004.

Mickelson got off to an inauspicious start, hitting his opening drive into the pine straw and his second shot into the sand en route to a bogey. Things got worse from there. He missed a short putt for par on No. 4 and stubbed the chip on No. 5 for a double bogey.

He was 5 over after seven holes and said he started setting new goals right there - to shoot par or better the rest of the round.

"I accomplished that mini-goal and tomorrow I've got to go back to playing some solid golf," Mickelson said. "If I can shoot a 68 or better, I could get myself back to par and get back in it."

Taylor, a native of Augusta, said he felt at home competing in this, his second Masters. But he knows the deal. Bad weather only exacerbates the problems that were created when the powers at Augusta National added even more length last year to bring the course to 7,445 yards.

"It's very tough out there," Taylor said. "There aren't too many pins you can go at, and the ones you can, it's probably a par 5, and it's probably your third shot."

Others who uncharacteristically struggled included U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, who three-putted from five feet for a triple-bogey 8 on the second hole and finished at 3-over 75.

Fred Funk started the back nine with two double bogeys and added an 8 on No. 15 on his way to 82.

Sergio Garcia hit his first drive into the gallery on the right side. He finished at 76.

Jim Furyk, ranked second in the world behind Woods, was 3 over through 17.

Mickelson, meanwhile, missed no fewer than four short putts that could have changed his score and his outlook dramatically. He also said the wind was so strong that it redirected a short pitch shot he had on No. 17.

"I thought it was going right, and the wind pushed the ball left," he said. "It was affecting even the shortest of shots."

Still, he said the conditions weren't "unmanageable," and a notable group from the senior set was proving him right.

Craig Stadler was on the leaderboard, even par through 14. Fuzzy Zoeller was even through 12.

Two-time champion Tom Watson kept things reasonable all day, until two bogeys at the end pushed his score to 75.

Not a fan of the drastic changes at Augusta over the past several years, Watson said the difference between Wednesday's practice round and Thursday with the bad weather "was dramatic and it was wrong."

"You aren't going to get a lot of rounds in the 60s in this wind," Watson said.