New course, old feeling of uncertainty for Mickelson
MARANA, Ariz. — Two things felt out of place to Phil Mickelson at the Accenture Match Play Championship.
One was the course. The tournament moved out of soggy La Costa Resort north of San Diego to the high desert of The Gallery Golf Club north of Tucson, a course that no one has played in competition.
The other was the day of the week.
Except for major championships, Mickelson couldn't recall the last time he arrived at a PGA Tour event on Tuesday. And not just because the World Golf Championship begins today.
"I was trying to think about that on the way over here," Mickelson said. "I can't remember the last time I played a practice round."
As if this tournament weren't already enough of an unknown.
Golf's most fickle event got under way this morning with Trevor Immelman taking on Thomas Bjorn in the first of 32 matches, the first round that will determine who can survive six matches.
For Tiger Woods, the question is whether he makes it eight in a row on the PGA Tour.
To do so, he has to win six in a row at The Gallery.
"This has always been one of the tougher events to win just because of the nature of the format," said Woods, the No. 1 seed for the seventh time in this tournament. "Match play, anything that happens is unpredictable. Sometimes, it takes a great round to advance. Sometimes, you can shoot over par and advance. All I know is you have to beat one guy at a time. You don't have to beat a whole field. Just six guys."
The 64-man field assembled in the high desert of The Gallery Golf Club represents the best in the world from 17 countries. The only guy Woods cares about today is Ryder Cup teammate J.J. Henry, his first opponent.
How fickle is this tournament?
Woods won in 2004 during his worst season on tour, when he went through another overhaul of his swing. He was in top form two years earlier, winning the Masters and U.S. Open, yet he couldn't get past Peter O'Malley in the first round of the Accenture.
"You can shoot 65 and lose. You can shoot 73 and win," Henry said. "You never know what you're going to get. Of course, I know if I play Tiger and shoot 73, I might as well pack my bags."
Jim Furyk is the No. 2 seed and will play Brett Quigley. Third-seeded Adam Scott faces Shaun Micheel, while Mickelson has the No. 4 seed and will play fellow lefty Richard Green of Australia.
Mickelson is playing as well as anyone coming into the tournament, although he has never reached the semifinals. He won at Pebble Beach by five shots, and had a two-shot lead on the back nine at Riviera until losing in a playoff to Charles Howell III at the Nissan Open.
What he learned during that rare practice round Tuesday is that The Gallery will require slightly different shots than Pebble Beach or Riviera. Instead of what he calls that "chip runner" with the driver, he was taking full swings and launching the ball higher.
The altitude, some 4,000 feet, will cause players to use a half-club less, maybe a full club with the longer irons. And unlike La Costa and its spongy greens that had Mickelson, Woods and others hitting with less spin into the green, Lefty expects to be more aggressive.
What that leads to is anyone's guess.
