SPRINGFIELD, N.J. _ After a wayward drive and a poor layup that nearly carried into the water, Phil Mickelson found himself mostly stymied by a stone bridge for his third shot on Baltusrol Golf Club's 18th hole.
The left-hander had only a half-swing, and when he made contact the ball shot straight right as if he'd hit a shocking cold shank. Mickelson eventually made bogey on the par-5 hole he birdied to win the 2005 PGA.
Starting on the 10th hole for the first round of the PGA Championship on Thursday, it was that ugly for Mickelson in his first competition since his tremendous Sunday duel with Henrik Stenson in the British Open.
Whatever magic he had at Troon escaped him, but Mickelson showed steely resilience. He birdied three of his last seven holes to shoot 1-over-par 71. He wasn't in the thick of the hunt, sitting six shots behind leader Jimmy Walker, but he wasn't out of it either.
"Could have been terrible," Mickelson said. "I was 4 over through 11 holes (and) I'm playing a very difficult hole No. 3 (par-4, 500 yards), which is usually the hardest hole out there. I was able to make birdie there (from 12 feet). That was a big birdie."
Of why he struggled so much early on Mickelson cited not having his usual routine of playing in a tournament the week before a major.
"Just quick at the top (of the swing)," Mickelson explained. "Just lost focus. Just antsy, a little jumpy, just lost rhythm and made some terrible swings. There's no real answer. The game has been very easy and the first 11 holes was very hard."
At least Mickelson made his way back to something respectable. In the same group, Rory McIlroy could not do the same. The four-time major winner couldn't make a birdie along with suffering four bogeys with a score of 74. He'll be fighting to make the cut in the second round.
"Driving the ball as well as I have, ever. Iron play feels good," McIlroy said. "Just when I get on the greens, it's just a different story."
He needed 35 putts _ an awful number that, according to tournament statistics, made him lose 3.8 strokes to the field on the greens.
