MICKELSON NOT A FAN OF NEW FLAGSTICK RULE

It's fair to say that the reaction to the rule allowing players to putt with the flagstick in has been positive. Jordan Spieth was seen tapping in putts with it in at the Sony Open. Bryson Dechambeau has got the science to back up his putting. In the Bahamas, Marty Dou clinched victory with a bomb of a birdie putt on the 72nd hole that hit the pin and dropped. And word has it that even Augusta National is likely going to allow it at the Masters.

Phil Mickelson, however, can't quite get with the program. At the season opening Desert Classic he didn't leave the flagstick in during his first-round 60, putting as he always has before, with the pin out. During the second round, he gave it a shot on a par-5 when he had 75 feet left for eagle, a putt he missed. On his next putt for birdie he left the pin in and missed again, and it sounds like an experience he's not interested in reliving. "I did [leave the pin in] and it felt very uncomfortable," Mickelson said. "I kind of eased into it thinking that if I hit it too hard it might hit the pin and miss, so I don't think I'll do that again."

And that wasn't the only new rule Mickelson had trouble with. He took a drop from the cart path and nearly committed the sin of dropping it from shoulder height instead of from knee height. For the moment at least, he's a bit confused with the new rules in 2019