3:25 AM
Liliana Rambawes
Although Phil Mickelson hasn't been at the top of his game over the last two weeks, he somehow finds a serene confidence once he begins competition at the Masters. Mickelson, a two-time champion, used a torrid three-hole stretch Thursday on the back nine of Augusta National Golf Club to come in with a 5-under-par 67 and join a five-way tie for second, a stroke behind 18-hole leader Fred Couples.
"I've been putting myself behind early in tournaments and having to almost force things," Mickelson said. "But there's just something about this place that, when I get on the golf course, I don't feel like I have to be perfect. It relaxes me. I'm able to free up my swing and let my short game save me if I make a couple of bad shots."
Mickelson, at 1-under par through 12 holes, knocked a 6-iron from 207 yards out at the par-5 13th and drained a 30-foot putt for eagle. He followed that with a 40-foot snake for birdie at No. 14, and two-putted the par-5 15th from 25 feet for another birdie.
"My expectations are high and I thought it was a good, solid start to the tournament," he said. "But it's just one [round] out of four."
Oh, what a feeling
Nathan Smith, a member of last year's victorious U.S. Walker Cup team at Merion Golf Club, admitted he was peeking at the leader boards to see his name up there.
Smith, the 2009 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion from Pittsburgh, was 2-under through 10 holes. He bogeyed the 11th and birdied the par-3 12th with a 30-foot putt to go 2-under once again, getting on the board a second time.
Smith, whose father, Larry, is his caddie, bogeyed four consecutive holes after that and finished with a 74, but he felt good afterward.
"To have your name up there on the leader board, that's special," he said. "You never dream something like that is going to happen, even if it's as brief as 10 holes or 12 holes or whatever it was. But it was a real thrill. Obviously, that was uncharted territory for me, and it was fun for a while."
Honorary starters
For the first time, Jack Nicklaus joined Arnold Palmer as an honorary starter for the Masters, both hitting a drive off the first tee.
"I went out and hit a tee shot that when I hit it, Arnold said, 'That wasn't too bad,' " Nicklaus said. "I said, 'Yeah, we heard it.' That's what we were trying to do, trying to hear the ball hit the club. As long as we don't hear it land, we are both in good shape, and that was what we did."
A smiling Palmer was still feeling the glow of an 80-foot putt he made on the final hole of Wednesday's par-3 contest.
"I was happy to make contact with the drive," Palmer said, "and the putt made my week."
Nicklaus, who won six Masters, two more than Palmer, said he never had been up that early to watch honorary starters when he was playing, beginning with Jock Hutchison and Freddie McLeod.
"I was a young player and I didn't have a clue who they were," he said, "and I'm sure that the young players have no clue who Arnold and I are."
Familiar names
After opening with nine consecutive pars, West Chester's Sean O'Hair had to work on the back nine to finish with a par 72. O'Hair bogeyed the 10th, 11th and 13th holes but managed to get back to even with the help of birdies at 15 and 17. . . . Jim Furyk suffered through a nightmarish back nine, with a triple bogey at the par-3 16th and three double bogeys, and wound up with an 80. . . . Edoardo Molinari, who won the 2005 U.S. Amateur at Merion, came in with a 76.
"I've been putting myself behind early in tournaments and having to almost force things," Mickelson said. "But there's just something about this place that, when I get on the golf course, I don't feel like I have to be perfect. It relaxes me. I'm able to free up my swing and let my short game save me if I make a couple of bad shots."
Mickelson, at 1-under par through 12 holes, knocked a 6-iron from 207 yards out at the par-5 13th and drained a 30-foot putt for eagle. He followed that with a 40-foot snake for birdie at No. 14, and two-putted the par-5 15th from 25 feet for another birdie.
"My expectations are high and I thought it was a good, solid start to the tournament," he said. "But it's just one [round] out of four."
Oh, what a feeling
Nathan Smith, a member of last year's victorious U.S. Walker Cup team at Merion Golf Club, admitted he was peeking at the leader boards to see his name up there.
Smith, the 2009 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion from Pittsburgh, was 2-under through 10 holes. He bogeyed the 11th and birdied the par-3 12th with a 30-foot putt to go 2-under once again, getting on the board a second time.
Smith, whose father, Larry, is his caddie, bogeyed four consecutive holes after that and finished with a 74, but he felt good afterward.
"To have your name up there on the leader board, that's special," he said. "You never dream something like that is going to happen, even if it's as brief as 10 holes or 12 holes or whatever it was. But it was a real thrill. Obviously, that was uncharted territory for me, and it was fun for a while."
Honorary starters
For the first time, Jack Nicklaus joined Arnold Palmer as an honorary starter for the Masters, both hitting a drive off the first tee.
"I went out and hit a tee shot that when I hit it, Arnold said, 'That wasn't too bad,' " Nicklaus said. "I said, 'Yeah, we heard it.' That's what we were trying to do, trying to hear the ball hit the club. As long as we don't hear it land, we are both in good shape, and that was what we did."
A smiling Palmer was still feeling the glow of an 80-foot putt he made on the final hole of Wednesday's par-3 contest.
"I was happy to make contact with the drive," Palmer said, "and the putt made my week."
Nicklaus, who won six Masters, two more than Palmer, said he never had been up that early to watch honorary starters when he was playing, beginning with Jock Hutchison and Freddie McLeod.
"I was a young player and I didn't have a clue who they were," he said, "and I'm sure that the young players have no clue who Arnold and I are."
Familiar names
After opening with nine consecutive pars, West Chester's Sean O'Hair had to work on the back nine to finish with a par 72. O'Hair bogeyed the 10th, 11th and 13th holes but managed to get back to even with the help of birdies at 15 and 17. . . . Jim Furyk suffered through a nightmarish back nine, with a triple bogey at the par-3 16th and three double bogeys, and wound up with an 80. . . . Edoardo Molinari, who won the 2005 U.S. Amateur at Merion, came in with a 76.
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