Lefty scrambles his way into contention at Augusta

[April 08, 2011]  AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) -- Phil Mickelson drove it behind towering Georgia pines. He knocked it under azalea bushes blazing with color. No one hit fewer fairways than the defending Masters champion.

Yet when he got to the 18th hole, there were nothing but pars and birdies on his card.

This was Scrambling 101, and it was good enough to keep Lefty in contention for another green jacket.

"I missed it in spots where I could get up and down, in spots where I knew ... I had a good angle," Mickelson said. "I scrambled well to stay in, but I also let four or five good birdie opportunities slide. I'm going to have to capitalize on those opportunities if I'm going to go low."

Mickelson took his lone bogey at the final hole after knocking his second shot over the green, but he still goes into Friday's second round just five strokes behind rising star Rory McIlroy and long-hitting Spaniard Alvaro Quiros, who shared the lead at 7-under 65.

It was a deficit that didn't look all that daunting, especially after Mickelson hit only four out of 14 fairways Thursday -- the worst percentage in the 99-player field.

Not surprisingly, he headed straight from the 18th hole to the practice range, looking to work out the kinks in his swing before sundown.

Imagine the possibilities if he can actually keep it in the short grass.

"It's OK, just OK," Mickelson said of his 70. "I didn't shoot myself out of it, but I didn't make up ground on the field the way I wanted to, so I've got to go do it."

There were plenty of red numbers on the scoreboard after Round 1. The world's best golfers were able to attack the venerable course on a warm, sunny day with only a hint of a breeze, the pins positioned more favorably than they'll likely be the rest of the week.

A pair of South Koreans, Y.E. Yang and K.J. Choi, were at 67. Matt Kuchar and Ricky Barnes were the top Americans at 68. Seven others were in the 60s, including 2008 Masters champ Trevor Immelman and a rejuvenated Sergio Garcia, resuming his chase for that first major title.

Tiger Woods wasn't too far back, either, posting a 71 that's right around his norm for a first day at Augusta National, where he's won four times and almost always puts himself in contention.

"Hey, it's a long way to go," said Woods, mired in the longest winless streak of his career. "We have a long grind ahead of us. The temperature is supposed to warm up and I'm sure they will start making the pins a little more difficult as the week goes on. I'm right there in the ballgame. I'm only six back."

Those guys at the top of the board are more proof that a new generation of golfers is on the way, even at a place that embraces its past.

The 21-year-old McIlroy, who opened with a 63 at St. Andrews last summer in the British Open, again delivered exquisite shots on one of the biggest stages. It was such a clean round that he didn't make a bogey and was left wondering how much lower he could have gone if not for missing five birdie chances inside 10 feet.

"It wasn't maybe as exclusive or spectacular as the 63 at St. Andrews," he said. "But it was very solid from start to finish."

McIlroy spent the afternoon watching the late starters on television, wondering if anyone could match his score. No one did until the 28-year-old Quiros, playing in the final group.

Considered the longest hitter in the game, the lanky Spaniard blasted away on a course where he had never shot better than 75. Finally, he spun an approach back to 3 feet on the 18th hole to catch McIlroy atop the leaderboard.

"Time to do it, isn't it?" said Quiros, who lit up the course with his smile as much as his shotmaking. "Finally, I played well. I was lucky, too. I holed putts."

Indeed he did, including a 20-footer at the 14th after he drove behind a tree, then got himself into more trouble when his next shot ricocheted off a limb. He had to punch out into the fairway, put his fourth shot on the green and knocked in a 20-footer for his only bogey of the day.

He broke into another big smile. He knew it could've been much worse.

"Obviously," he said, "the best club in my bag was the putter."

Quiros was joined in the last group by two other big hitters: Gary Woodland and Jhonattan Vegas. Both are Augusta newcomers who qualified in recent months with their first PGA Tour win -- more examples of a shift toward youth, two players built more for football and basketball than for golf.

They all bash it, and did they ever put on a show.

The trio combined to make 10 birdies and two eagles over the last six holes, enough reason for the gallery to stick around even after Woods was long gone and Mickelson was on the practice range in the fading sunlight.

Augusta still showed some teeth if players got too careless.

PGA champion Martin Kaymer, ranked No. 1 in the world, struggled again at the Masters and shot a 78. He has never made the cut, and it looks as though this might be another short week. Lee Westwood, runner-up to Mickelson last year, opened with a 72.

"It's not my game at the moment," Westwood said. "If you can't hole it out from 4 feet, you're going to struggle."

McIlroy fired off three straight birdies starting the par-5 second, the best of those a pitch from just outside 60 yards that skipped and stopped a few feet from the hole at No. 3. He hit a 7-iron just left of the pin on No. 9, then picked up another birdie on the 11th with a 5-iron that flirted with the pond left of the green and settled 8 feet away.

Two more birdies followed, and McIlroy had another stellar round in the majors.

Last summer in Scotland, the freckle-faced kid followed his record-tying 63 with an 80 when he got caught up in the blustery conditions of St. Andrews. He rallied to tie for third at the Open, finished third again at the PGA and hopes he'll be better prepared to play from out front at this year's first major.

"Obviously at the time, I was very disappointed to come off the course and shoot 80 after shooting 63," McIlroy said. "But looking back on it, it was a very valuable lesson in my development as a golfer."

[Associated Press; By PAUL NEWBERRY]

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