Mickelson struggles with driver in ’20 debut
LA QUINTA, CALIF. >> Phil Mickelson drove so far left on the par-4 ninth that he was in the rough behind a tree all the way across the adjacent first fairway.
While Lefty struggled off the tee Thursday at The American Express in his first round of the year, the drive through two fairways actually wasn’t a big miss because he was trying to hit into the first fairway to get a better angle to the back right pin.
“Takes the water out of play and I just have a much better angle,” said Mickelson, the 49-year-old Hall of Famer competing for the first time since early November. “I actually pushed it a little bit across and got a little bit unlucky to be behind the tree, but I ended up just chipping a little wedge underneath it and getting it on.”
He made a tap-in par there and shot a 2-under 70 at La Quinta Country Club to fall six strokes behind leaders Zac Blair and Grayson Murray.
Murray and Blair shot 64 in sunny and mostly calm conditions. Murray closed with a bogey on the par-4 ninth on PGA West’s Stadium Course, also the site of the final round in the pro-am event.
Rickie Fowler, Scottie Scheffler and Hank Lebioda shot 65.
Kang opens with 63
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. >> Danielle Kang birdied half the holes atat the LPGA’s season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, made a single bogey, and her 8-under 63 was enough to carve out a twoshot lead.
Gaby Lopez, Angela Stanford and Inbee Park, recently named the LPGA’s player of the decade, each opened at 65. Lexi Thompson was in a group at 5-under 66. Twentyone of the 26 players broke par.
Koepka tied for 3rd in return from knee injury
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES >> Brooks Koepka shot a 6-under 66 Thursday in his return to competition after a knee injury and was tied for third place after the opening round of the Abu Dhabi Championship.
Koepka, ranked No. 1 in the world, missed three months after re-injuring his knee when he slipped while walking off the tee on Oct. 18 at the CJ Cup in South Korea.