TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

2007 Champ Mickelson Still In Hunt

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 9, 2008

PONTE VEDRA BEACH - No player has defended his Players Championship title, but Phil Mickelson kept himself in position for back-to-back titles.

Mickelson shot 2-under 70 and is four shots behind leader Sergio Garcia.

"Well, I'm pleased to have shot under par and pleased to get off to a good, solid start," he said.

Mickelson, who began play on the back nine, suffered consecutive bogeys at Nos. 18 and 1, but held steady.

"I feel as though I'm turning 66s into 70s and I'm going to have to fix that this weekend," he said. "I'm going to have to stop letting those shots slide in the middle of the rough that are costing me."

MUST HAVE BEEN THE SUSHI BAR: Three players withdrew Thursday citing illness.

Masters champion Trevor Immelman pulled out before making it to the first tee Thursday at TPC Sawgrass.

Immelman woke with a stomach virus that was causing vomiting. He returned to his home in Orlando to recover.

"His main focus now is to use this time that he had previously scheduled off to get well and to prepare himself for this next event," said agent Jon Wagner.

Hunter Mahan and Jason Gore also reported a similar illness and withdrew during their rounds. Gore played his first four holes 7 over par - par, quad, bogey, double.

BOY, DOES THAT HURT: Nathan Green was making a late rally Thursday, coming back from a triple-bogey 6 at the 13th hole. The Australian made a move by birdieing the par-5 16th and the par-3 17th - dropping a 35-foot putt.

And then he made a quadruple 8 on the par-4 18th after finding water off the tee. He finished with a 78.

NO BALL REPAIR NEEDED: The greens at TPC Sawgrass are hard and fast.

How hard?

"There aren't even ball marks out there," Fred Couples said after shooting 70. "You just kind of bend over to make it look like you're doing something."

HAVING FUN: Anthony Kim, 22, who distinguished himself as a future star with last week's victory in the Wachovia Championship, didn't miss a step Thursday, opening with a 2-under 70.

"I feel comfortable and I'm having a blast playing golf," he said.

WET AND WILD: The annual running tab on water balls at the par-3, island-green 17th hole got off to a good start Thursday, with 18 players putting 19 balls in the drink.

Matt Kuchar was the player who did it twice, sinking his second shot from the drop circle. He would make 7.

GOOD RECOVERY: Paul Goydos, 4 under and two shots out of the lead, was among the victims at 17, but he managed to salvage bogey by hitting his third shot to 12 feet and making the putt.

The save served as a boost for Goydos, who went on to play the front-side with a 32.

"I wouldn't say I tried to hit it in the water but definitely making a 12-footer was a propeller," he said.

Mick Elliott

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT