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Tiger toils as Mickelson leads the way

11/05/2007

Phil Mickelson hit a five-under of 67 in tough conditions at the Players' Championship at Sawgrass to lead the field with Rory Sabbatini in the first round of the event.

Mickelson landed a 65-foot birdie to finish off an impressive round of green-play, but fellow American Tiger Woods was toiling through the course, finishing up on three-over on 75 alongside the eccentric British contender Ian Poulter.

Woods even managed to produce his first birdie-free round on the PGA tour since 2003 and clearly suffered with the high winds and unpredictable conditions.

"The greens are a little bit tricky to read, different grain out there than we're used to, and I had a tougher time than the guys at the top," Woods said.

Mickelson did not share Woods' woes and managed to guide some fine shots down the fairway to set-up some awkward, but manageable putts.

"I made some good putts and the ones that didn't go in were very close," the Californian said.

Woods' unsettled form appears to be continuing on from his performance at the Masters, which was mixed at best and saw the usually cool competitor losing his temper on a number of occasions.

Englishman Brian Davis was well-placed on one under alongside the South African Retief Goosen, while Ernie Els and Luke Donald followed on one over and two over respectively.


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