NORTON, Mass. — Phil Mickelson keeps saying how much he loves playing with Tiger Woods. He shot an 8-under 63 at the Deutsche Bank Championship to prove it.

In a feature grouping of the top three players in the world ranking, Mickelson turned in the star performance Friday morning with a front-nine 28 that allowed him to consider — but only briefly — another shot at 59.

By the end of the day, when he played a risky shot from deep in the trees on his final hole to salvage bogey, he was happy to have a share of the lead. Mickelson was tied with Brian Davis, who made a 25-foot birdie putt on the last hole.

In January in Mickelson’s Phoenix Open victory, he lipped out a birdie putt for 59 and settled for a first-round 60.

Woods had a 68. Masters champion Adam Scott, rounding out the 1-2-3 pairing, struggled to a 73.