Tiger ties record, opens with 65 at Quail Hollow

[May 01, 2009]  CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were as far away from each other as possible, one teeing off at No. 10 in the morning, the other starting at No. 1 in the afternoon at the Quail Hollow Championship.

But they sure seem inseparable at the moment.

Three weeks after they practically stole the show at the Masters with their final-round pairing, Woods and Mickelson were separated by two shots and one position on the leaderboard.

Woods, the early starter, made six birdies on his back nine for a 30 that matched the tournament record, including four over the final five holes for a 7-under 65 that gave him his first outright lead after any round since the U.S. Open last summer.

Mickelson got off to a blazing start, chipping in for eagle on the seventh hole, until he closed with seven straight pars for a 67, leaving him tied for second with Steve Marino, Robert Allenby and Jason Dufner.

And at various points in the day, they sure heard about each other.

"Let's go, Phil," a few fans said as Woods walked toward the green, taunting him.

"Catch Tiger," other fans yelled at Mickelson as he finished up his round, trying to make up two shots.

Mickelson wasn't the least bit bothered to see Woods at 65 before Lefty had a chance to tee off.

"It's the first day," he said. "The last thing I'm setting is a number. Maybe Sunday I'll start thinking about a number. But Thursday, the conditions can vary from the morning to the afternoon. I think the afternoon rounds are always a little bit tougher to get it going because you don't get perfect greens."

Mickelson will get those Friday.

If that was the difference, then Woods sure took advantage. He made four birdie putts from the 12- to 15-foot range, including two straight to close out his round. But his short game was particularly sharp, especially a pair of par saves on the front nine that kept his momentum going in the right direction.

"I putted the same as I did at Augusta," Woods said. "But this time, they went in instead of lipping out."

Mickelson was 4 under through seven holes after chipping in for eagle, and he was only two behind after another birdie on the 11th, and it appeared as though he would join Woods at the top of the leaderboard.

But he failed to birdie the 14th, hitting a 60-yard wedge that bounded over the green and nearly into the water, then missed the green and chipped indifferently to the par-5 15th, again settling for par.

By the end of the round, pars were golden.

He pulled a fairway bunker shot on the 16th that struck a woman -- "Who did I nail?" Mickelson said when he approached, handing the uninjured fan a glove -- but hit a nifty pitch over the bunker to 3 feet to save par.

On the final hole, he pulled another bunker shot that went under the apron of a large video board. After taking his free drop, Mickelson hit a wedge from the slope of a hill that spun and stopped 2 feet from the hole.

"It's nice to finish with a par," he said. "I ended up playing a good round."

It was enjoyable for so many reasons.

Even with the buzz over Woods and Mickelson putting their names atop the leaderboard, players could not stop talking about the way Quail Hollow was prepared for this tournament.

The greens are super slick, which limits scoring to only those on top of their games. The rough is just a rumor, so short that it resembles the collar of a green. Marshals typically use tiny flags to mark a ball in the rough so players won't have to look hard to find the golf balls. The flags are not needed this week.

"It's more fun to watch," Geoff Ogilvy said after opening with a 71. "And firm greens can separate the field. You can shoot low, but if you're not quite on top of your game, you have no chance. It makes for interesting scoring."

The players knew what they were getting, but many still were surprised the first time they walked toward the rough and saw their ball sitting up nicely, allowing for a shot at the green. Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, who was among those at 68, was asked how it felt the first time he missed a fairway.

"The first time I hit a fairway?" Goosen replied. "I didn't hit a fairway until No. 9."

Thankfully, he started on the first hole.

"I hit four fairways and shot 68," Goosen said.

That made for some interesting scoring, indeed, especially when Woods and Mickelson were among those posting the lowest scores, neither of them with a bogey on their cards.

"It's only one round," Mickelson reminded. "There's a lot of golf left."

Yes, but what an appetizer they served up.

[Associated Press; By DOUG FERGUSON]

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