Mickelson (62) Sets Golf World on Fire

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. â€”  Phil’s on fire, at least in the golf sense, a Mickelsonian condition represented by symptoms of extreme low scores and a high number of birdies. If Phil Mickelson were any hotter, he’d either come with asbestos gloves, a pilot light or a warning label.

Consider what he did on opening day at the AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Mickelson flung a course record, 10-under-par 62 at Spyglass Hill and ambled to a three-shot lead, the biggest first-round lead here in 27 years.

What’s up with this?

“I’m really loving playing,� he said.

Right now, Mickelson’s game is one big love fest.

In November, he shot a 59 at a special event in Hawaii. Two weeks ago at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, he had a chance to win on the final day. Last week at Scottsdale, he shot a second-round 60 to tie the course record on his way to a five-shot victory, his widest margin in any of his 24 tournament titles.

Then he showed up Thursday and showed what it really means to be on a roll. Mickelson birdied three of the first four holes and three of the last five in an entertaining round that included a chip-in from 20 feet for a birdie at the second, a birdie after driving into some ice plant at the fourth and a six-iron off a cart path that led to another birdie at the eighth.

In his last 15 rounds, Mickelson has a 59, a 60 and a 62. Even so, he won’t admit that he’s playing better than anyone on the PGA Tour.

“I wouldn’t say that, but I’m certainly playing some of the best golf in my career,� he said. “I don’t feel surprised right now. Normally, when I have a very low round, I think, ‘Oh, that’s great.’ But it feels like the way I’m hitting it that I should shoot [like] that.�

The good news for everyone else is that this tournament ends Sunday, not Thursday afternoon, so there’s time to catch up. Closest to Mickelson are Charles Howell III, Kevin Sutherland, Hunter Mahan, Davis Love III and Daniel Chopra.

Love eagled the last hole at Poppy Hills to join the group at seven-under 65. Howell, who is off to a hot start this year with a tie for third at the Sony Open and a tie for second at Torrey Pines, found a windless Pebble Beach ready to be overwhelmed.

“I don’t think you get any better weather at Pebble Beach than this today,� he said. “So with that said, there’s a little bit of pressure in that you need to take advantage of a day like today.�

Howell probably appreciated the break. Last year, before the final round here, he got food poisoning and tied for 35th. Three weeks ago, he hit the flagstick on the last hole at Torrey Pines with a chance to catch Tiger Woods and the ball spun back into the water.

“It’s just shocking,� Howell said.

The lack of wind wasn’t quite shocking, but it was certainly unexpected. It was not a factor at the other two courses, Poppy Hills and Spyglass, and in fact, the only real problem area for the players was they were risking sunburn.

The scores indicated what the pros can do to virtually any course if there’s no wind. There were 93 players in the 180-pro field who broke par and 45 who shot in the 60s, but while Mickelson’s score set the pace, he probably can’t afford to get too comfortable.

Vijay Singh is 11 shots behind Mickelson after a one-over 73 at Spyglass that included a triple-bogey eight at the 529-yard seventh hole.

Mike Weir, the back-to-back Nissan Open champion, is four shots back after a 66 at Poppy Hills. He’s tied for seventh along with qualifying school grad and tour rookie Mario Tiziani, who also earned his 66 at Poppy Hills, as did Dicky Pride.

Todd Hamilton, the British Open champion, leads a group of seven at 67.

Right now, they’re all chasing Mickelson, who needed only 23 putts and says he is dialed in. A change to a prototype Callaway ball has helped him get better feel with his short irons, and also has increased his distance off the tee. It’s his driving that has made the most difference, he said.

Mickelson is averaging 301.8 yards on his drives this year, which ranks ninth on the PGA Tour, but that’s more than six yards longer than his average distance a year ago when he ranked 30th.

“Honestly, I’ve never driven it this far,� he said. “If I can just keep it in the first cut and keep it in play, I’m having so many wedges, it’s tremendous.�

Seven of his 10 birdies were set up by wedges.

In his last two complete tournaments, plus Thursday’s first round here, Mickelson is a combined 48 under par.

Sutherland said what Mickelson did Thursday was an attention-grabber.

“A 62 is good at Bermuda Dunes. A 62 at Spyglass is a whole different story,� he said. “That’s an amazing round.�

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Phil Aflame

The round-by-round performance on this season’s PGA Tour by Phil Mickelson:

BUICK INVITATIONAL

*--* Date Tot. +/- E Bi Bo Dbo Torrey Pines (South) Jan. 20 72 E 0 2 2 0 Torrey Pines (North) Jan. 21 67 -5 0 6 1 0 Torrey Pines (South) Jan. 22 78 +6 0 2 8 0 Torrey Pines (South) Jan. 23 71 -1 0 6 5 0 BOB HOPE CLASSIC Tamarisk Jan. 26 66 -6 0 7 1 0 La Quinta Jan. 27 64 -8 0 8 0 0 PGA West (Palmer Course) Jan. 28 70 -2 0 6 4 0 Bermuda Dunes Jan. 29 68 -4 0 5 1 0 PGA West (Palmer Course) Jan. 30 71 -1 0 5 2 1 FBR OPEN TPC of Scottsdale Feb. 3 73 +2 0 4 6 0 Feb. 4 60 -11 1 9 0 0 Feb. 5 66 -5 0 6 1 0 Feb. 6 68 -3 0 4 1 0 PEBBLE BEACH PRO-AM Spyglass Hill Feb. 10 62 -10 0 10 0 0

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E -- Eagle; Bi -- Birdies; Bo -- Bogeys; DBo -- Double bogeys.