The Live Report, Round 1: Northern Trust Open
| PGATOUR.COM Instant Access | ||||
|
Send us your thoughts or questions through AOL Instant Messenger (screen name: TheLiveReport) or by e-mail at 
BREAKING DOWN LEFTY'S ROUND (6:30 p.m.): In shooting an 8-under 63 on Thursday, Phil Mickelson not only made a statement that was loud enough to grab the lead at the Northern Trust Open, he recorded his first sub-70 round of the 2009 season.
In the process, Mickelson hit only half his fairways, but it didn't matter because he hit 12 of 18 greens and took only 22 putts.
"The reason why the score was so low is I ended up making some putts, I holed a chip and got up-and-down on every green that I missed, which is very helpful," Mickelson said. "But I at least feel like I'm on the right track."
Here's another reason to think Mickelson is on the right track and the talk of a slump was overblown. He only spent about two weeks practicing prior to his debut at the FBR Open. So that's two weeks, plus three tournaments. Golf doesn't have a preseason, but that's about as close to one as you could come. Not to mention Mickelson always has his sights set on winning majors.
"We've only played three events. It's early in the year. It's still the middle of the February. It's going to be a long year and the majors have not even started yet," Mickelson said. "My feeling is I want to be on the right track heading into Augusta. I want to have some good tournaments heading into Augusta and I want to have some momentum."
Speaking of momentum, Mickelson may have built some starting with his birdie on 18 to make the cut at Pebble Beach last week. It certainly appeared to carry over to Thursday, too. -- Brian Wacker
MCCARRON'S STELLAR DAY ON THE GREENS (5:29 p.m. ET): If you were impressed by Phil Mickelson's 22-putt day, Scott McCarron went one better.
As we just mentioned, he finished with a 64 -- but he only needed 21 putts. McCarron's success on the greens on Friday can be traced directly to his scrambling ability -- he made only one bogey despite missing eight greens.
McCarron, who made only nine cuts in 22 starts, is already 3-for-4 in making cuts on the PGA TOUR in 2009.
TIGER ANNOUNCES HIS RETURN (4:50 p.m.): Tiger Woods has never won at Riviera, but he's won just about everywhere else. It was just announced on his Web site that he will make his return next week at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, where he will defend his title.
There had been plenty of speculation about when he would make his return. The questions about whether his knee would hold up over the long days of multiple rounds at the Match Play had many thinking that his return would be postponed until Florida. We should have known that trying to out guess Tiger is nothing more than foolish. -- John Maginnes
EASY START, TOUGH FOLLOW-UP (4:40 p.m.): Riviera's par-5 opening hole is playing as the easiest on the course today so far and at just 503 yards it's easy to see why. What's interesting, however, is that the 463-yard, par-4 second is playing as the toughest.
Of the top 10 players on the leaderboard, all of them but one -- Dustin Johnson -- have birdied the first hole. Conversely, Luke Donald is the only player among that group to have birdied No. 2, while Fred Couples put up a double bogey and Tim Clark a bogey on the second hole. -- Brian Wacker
| Comparing No. 1 vs. No. 2 at Riviera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
MCCARRON ON THE MEND (4:28 p.m.): Scott McCarron hasn't won since the 2001 BellSouth Classic, but after a 7-under 64 Thursday, he's just one back of early leader Phil Mickelson.
McCarron spent last season playing on a Major Medical Extension after missing all of 2007 thanks to elbow surgery the year before. So far this season, McCarron's best finish is a T34 at the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer.
His 64 was also just one off his lowest score of 2008, which came in the third round of the RBC Canadian Open, and three off a career-best 61 in the final round of the 1999 Air Canada Championship. -- Brian Wacker
THE ONE, THE ONLY: (3:48 p.m. ET) Riviera is one of those great venues that reminds golf of its roots. Hogan's Alley will never be confused with the Riviera in Dublin, Ohio or Coral Gables, Fla. There is really only one Riviera -- the one where Snead, Nelson and Hogan all rang the bell back in the day. The one that Phil is making look like his second home. And the one that has held the two most dominant players of the last five decades at bay.
Riviera doesn't discriminate, and it isn't impressed by major championships or Oscar winners. Tiger Woods made his PGA TOUR debut here at the tender age of 16 but has never hoisted a trophy at his hometown event. Jack Nicklaus, still the most prolific major champion and ahead of Tiger in career wins couldn't tame the gem in Pacific Palisades either. -- John Maginnes
THAT WAS EASY (3:30 p.m. ET): Phil Mickelson just two-putted the par-4 ninth from 45 feet to complete his 63 under a cloudless day at Riviera. Mickelson didn't make a bogey, had 22 putts, and hit a respectable half of his fairways.
The course record on this par 71 is still held by Ted Tryba, who shot 61 on his way to a runner-up finish in 1999. -- Ryan Smithson
Here's a look at Mickelson's scorecard from today:
SHORT, SWEET...AND DEADLY (3:17 p.m. ET): The 10th hole at Riviera remains relatively unchanged from what it looked like from the time Ben Hogan ruled the fairways here. It's still a mere 315 yards, but it is awfully easy to get into trouble here, even if you've played here countless times.
Mike Weir, a two-time winner here, double-bogeyed the 10th after going for the green on his tee shot. The shot went way left and saddled Weir with a severely short-sided approach shot, which he chunked into a greenside bunker.
Another victim was q-school winner Harrison Frazar, who made a double bogey even after laying up into the fairway. Like Weir, Frazar also left his approach into the bunker. Because the green is very narrow and slick, a bunkered approach shot is usually an automatic bogey.
The early hero of the 10th hole? None other than Phil Mickelson, who blasted his drive behind the green before hitting an 100-foot impossible flop to six feet. -- Ryan Smithson
AFTERNOON GROUPS TO WATCH (3:00 p.m.): While Phil Mickelson is busy setting the early pace, there are a few players going off in the afternoon wave worth keeping an eye on.
Ernie Els, who won here in 1999, is set to tee off on No. 1 (3:01 ET) with local boy Ryuji Imada and Mercedes-Benz Championship winner Geoff Ogilvy.
Vijay Singh, who missed the cut in his first tournament since having knee surgery earlier this year, is playing with Steve Stricker and Justin Leonard. Stricker is still trying to recover from a final-round collapse at the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer. They go off at 3:12 p.m. ET. -- Brian Wacker
RYO UPDATE (2:46 p.m.): After making a two bogeys and a double bogey in a six-hole stretch, 17-year-old Japanese phenom Ryo Ishikawa has righted himself a bit with four straight pars.
That keeps Ishikawa at 3 over through 11 holes today. While there are still some birdie opportunities left on the back nine, there is only one par 5 left for him to play. -- Brian Wacker
PRIME SCORING CONDITIONS (2:35 p.m.): While there might be some muddy spots on Riviera, conditions are near perfect with clear skies and only a slight breeze. The pins on the front nine are also scoring friendly with many of them back, which is allowing players to take dead aim at them on the difficult front side here.
Case in point: Phil Mickelson and Dean Wilson have combined to make eight birdies on the front and more are likely to come with Mickelson still playing the front after starting his day on the back nine. -- Brian Wacker
MORNING MOVERS (2:25 p.m.): Defending champion Phil Mickelson is off to a very fast start at Riviera, but he's not the only one.
See how Stuart Appleby, Fred Couples and others are faring with the latest highlights in today's edition of the Morning Movers 
.
WILSON LOOKING FOR SECOND WIN (2:19 p.m.): Dean Wilson is the answer to a trivia question -- who is the only active PGA TOUR champion to have never won a stroke play or match play event?
Wilson's lone PGA TOUR victory came in 2006 at The INTERNATIONAL, which was played under a Modified Stableford points system. He didn't get to defend, either, since that was the last year the tournament was played.
Wilson could make that trivia question moot this week at Riviera Country Club. He's made seven birdies and just one bogey in his first 15 holes and stands one stroke off the pace being set by Phil Mickelson. -- Helen Ross
MICKELSON CONTINUES TO GO LOW: (2:05 p.m.): Phil Mickelson just made his seventh birdie of the day to get to 7 under through 13 holes.
That's twice as many as he's been averaging per round this season. And though his YTD birdie average is only two-tenths higher than it was in 2008, he currently ranks 135th on the PGA TOUR (mostly thanks to a couple of birdie-friendly events that dot the early schedule) after ranking seventh in birdie average last season. -- Brian Wacker
Check out Mickelson's scorecard below:
MAKING THE MOST OF AN OPPORTUNITY (1:50 p.m.): Vincent Johnson, who received the inaugural Charlie Sifford exemption, is making the most of his opportunity on Thursday.
Johnson -- like the other attention-getting young pro, Ryo Ishikawa -- birdied his first hole. The Oregon State grad teed off No. 10 as Ishikawa was playing the first hole and rolled in a 21-inch putt for birdie. He gave a stroke back at No. 12 but got back into red numbers at the par-3 14th with a 12-foot putt.
Johnson is five strokes off the lead held by Dean Wilson and Phil Mickelson. -- Helen Ross
RYO UPDATE (1:35 p.m.): After opening with a birdie on the par-5 first at Riviera, Ryo Ishikawa has given some strokes back.
The 17-year-old Japanese sensation bogeyed Nos. 2 and 5 before posting a double bogey at the par-4 seventh. Ishikawa three-putted from just inside 40 feet on the second hole before missing a 5-footer for par on the fifth hole. On No. 6, the putting problems persisted as Ishikawa three-jacked from inside 5 feet. He's now 3 over on the day. -- Brian Wacker
Follow Ishikawa's round live by clicking here.
HAS PHIL FOUND HIS SWING? (1:20 p.m.): Phil Mickelson, who has yet to break 70 and has finished with a missed cut, T42 and T55 this year, may finally be coming around.
Perhaps playing Riviera is just what Mickelson needed -- he's 5 under through 10 holes today and, at the moment, is atop the leaderboard.
Mickelson, who is the defending champion here and finished second in a playoff two years ago, has said the last few weeks that his swing, while a little rusty, is close. The most promising sign? Mickelson has taken just 12 putts through 10 holes today. -- Brian Wacker
Follow Mickelson's round live by clicking here.
FROM THE INBOX (1:03 p.m.): Reader Kevin McDonald from Erie, Pa., e-mailed in asking if we really think 17-year-old Ryo Ishikawa is good enough to contend this week, or if it'll be one and done. His second question is when do we think Tiger Woods will come back and if he'll be ready to win the Masters.
The answer to his first question is purely subjective, but by all indications Ishikawa has some serious game. To read more about him, click here. To see video of his press conference, click here .
As for Woods' return, it's anybody's guess right now. If he doesn't commit to playing the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship by 5 p.m. on Friday, then all indications are he'll make his debut at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship in a few weeks.
Wherever he does make his debut, he will be ready. Woods doesn't play golf unless he's 100 percent ready to and thinks he can win. Given his performance at last year's U.S. Open, and previous performances at Augusta National, he'll without a doubt be the favorite come the Masters. -- Brian Wacker
DONALD OUT FAST (12:45 p.m.): Luke Donald, who finished in a tie for third here last year, is off to another fast start with birdies on three of his first four holes.
Donald's been doing it with teriffic ballstriking today, knocking his approach shots on the holes he birdied (Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 5) to within 12 feet.
Fully recovered from wrist surgery, Donald, one of our Expert Picks this week, is coming off a T7 at the Buick Invitational, where, basically, a double bogey on the par-3 eighth knocked him out of contention.
With tight fairways and small greens, Riviera is a course that suits Donald's game well. Don't be surprised if he remains near the top of the leaderboard all day. -- Brian Wacker
WELCOME, RYO (12:35 p.m.): Ryo Ishikawa didn't disappoint in his PGA TOUR debut.
More than 125 people crowded around the first tee, which is set up on the steep hill by the sprawling clubhouse, to watch the 17-year-old Japanese phenom hit his first drive as a pro in the United States. The majority of the crowd appeared to be members of the media, but one interested observer was a fellow competitor, Colt Knost, who had walked over from the putting green and stood on the concrete ledge by a flower garden to get a better view.
Ishikawa found the right side of the fairway and then hit his second shot on the fringe where he two-putted from 34 feet for birdie on the 503-yard par 5. He gave that stroke back, though, on the second hole where he missed a 4-footer for par. -- Helen Ross
| Groups We're Watching | ||||||||||||
|
| Live Essentials | ||||
|
)
Shop your favorite brand name golf equipment and accessories at SHOP.PGATOUR.COM
FAN ZONE
PGATOUR.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network