masters96.com: Mickelson

| masters96.com: Mickelson

The Augusta Chronicle

Sports Illustrated

In only his fourth Masters, Mickelson turns in a 7-under par
Last updated April 11, 1996 at 10:30 PM

Rob Mueller
Staff Writer
The Augusta Chronicle

They talk about the endless amount of course knowledge to be learned at the Augusta National Golf Club.

Young Phil Mickelson left the 18th green with a 7-under-par 65 at the first round of the Masters Tournament Thursday.
By Natalee Waters/Augusta Chronicle

They emphasize the wealth of experience it requires, playing in Masters Tournament after Masters Tournament, before even the best in the game begin to find the handle on the ins and outs of pin placements, the peaks and valleys of fairways, the undulations of greens.

In just his fifth year on the PGA Tour and competing in only his fourth Masters, what makes Phil Mickelson so scary is that the 25-year-old seems to have already broken it all down to a sweet science.

Not just the golf course itself, but his own game, as well.

``I feel I've picked up little things over time,'' says Mickelson, who blistered the course with a first-round 7-under par 65 at the 60th Masters on Thursday. It was a round that featured six birdies and no bogeys on the back nine, and seemed destined to be good for the lead, until Greg Norman heated up. ``Opportunities to win here and the U.S. Open have helped.''

He improved on a 46th-place debut Masters finish as an amateur during his junior year at Arizona State in 1991, to 34th place in his second year on the Tour in '93. Last year, he led after the first round, and finished a solid seventh.

Needless to say, expectations are high for Mickelson. Not because of those five titles already under his belt, though.

No, the goals they've set for Mickelson are lofty because he's become a student of the game.

At Augusta National, that's where Mickelson is seemingly emerging as a bonafide A-student. He's discovered that at the Masters, it's the little things that mean a lot.

Take the technical little pointer he picked up earlier this week, courtesy of a two-time champ.

``I played yesterday with Ben Crenshaw, the defending champion, and picked up a few putts that helped me today,'' he said. ``On 15, he hit a couple of practice putts and he said `watch this,' and it swung to the right, where it looks like it might want to go left. I played it and knocked it down there to where I was able to make it.''

Or the little tidbit of course knowledge he apparently stumbled upon in his own studies.

``When I first came here as an amateur, or even the last couple of years, I felt I should be firing at every pin,'' Mickelson said. ``And I feel like now, I might fire at a pin in a certain spot, but firing at a pin means maybe 8 feet just to the left of it, so that I give myself an uphill putt to the hole.''

After a solid front nine, 1-under par, Mickelson caught fire with birdies on Nos. 11, 13, 14, 15, 17 and 18. He set up the low-scoring binge with long, accurate drives, a solid short game, and by keeping his putts to a minimum.

``In my opinion, the front nine is the harder of the two nines for the reason that 2 and 8 aren't always reachable,'' says Mickelson, ``where 13 and 15 for the most part are. And it was playing very fast today, which is why the back side I think played easier.''

For the confident Californian, playing an average front nine had nothing to do with nerves.

``No, I don't see that being the case,'' Mickelson said, when asked if he felt jittery during the first nine holes. ``That (65) is a deceptive round. The golf course is not playing to a 7-under round. It was a very fortunate round. I felt if I could shoot 1-, 2-, 3-under par, that would be a good round. And that was what I was aiming for.''

The most significant changes Mickelson made this year include adding a titanium driver, subtle adjustments in his short game and putting.

``A shot that I didn't have coming in this year was hitting 89 yards with a wedge for a spin,'' Mickelson said. ``I didn't have that shot because I'd steep everything and put a bunch of backspin on the ball. I've been trying to shallow out my swing over the past few years, and hit that shot without any spin to leave myself a good aggressive 12-footer for birdie. So I think it's just a matter of experience and improving my game that has helped me.''

He is especially pleased with the new driver but, at the same time, he downplays its role.

``The (titanium driver) helps in that the ball bottoms out a little more and I'm able to carry the bunker where I wouldn't have been able to normally,'' said Mickelson, who made the switch for The Players Championship two weeks ago. ``It's given me a lot of short irons to the hole, and I feel like I've picked up a little yardage.''

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