AUGUSTA, Ga.-As the rest of the pre-Masters favorites were firing at pins or falling back into the pack, golf’s two biggest stars were lurking on the fringe.
Defending champion Phil Mickelson posted a scrambling 70 and four-time Masters winner Tiger Woods was at 71, six off the first-round pace set by Rory McIlroy and Alvaro Quiros.
“I’m very pleased,” Woods said. “I’m right there in the ballgame. I’m only six back, and … we’ve got a lot of golf ahead of us.”
Mickelson was tied for 14th, packed with nine others including Crayola-casual Rickie Fowler, Camilio Villegas and Retief Goosen. Lefty was erratic off the tee – he hit four of 14 fairways – but managed to stay under par.
“It’s OK, just OK,” Mickelson said after finishing with a bogey on No. 18 before heading back to the range to work with his driver. “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 tomorrow.”