AUGUSTA, Ga. — Phil Mickelson had a scare on the 17th tee during yesterday’s Masters opening round when it appeared he tweaked his back.
Mickelson, who was in the process of rehabilitating what had been a shoddy round that fell to 2-over at the turn, was more bothered by the hooked tee shot on 17 that caused a bogey than he was the momentary pain he felt. He finished seven shots off the lead at 1-under.
“I fell back,’’ he said. “I just over-extended, just hung back a little bit too much. It doesn’t hurt or bother me, but I just hate hanging back and hitting that hook.’’
Mickelson, who said on Tuesday he was nervous about a shaky start because he did not play a tournament last week, said he was not surprised to struggle early.
“It’s kind of what I anticipated when I said I thought I would come out a little bit passive and tentative, and I did,’’ he said. “I didn’t feel great starting out or confident. But the back nine, I started to feel good with my swing. It was a round that didn’t help me much, but it certainly didn’t hurt me.’’
Mickelson is seeking his fourth Masters win and first since 2010.
* Rory McIlroy, seeking his first win this year since he changed to Nike equipment, shot a 72, following a 2-under-par 34 on the front nine with a sloppy 2-over 38 on the back while his tennis-star girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki walked with him outside the ropes.
* Defending champion Bubba Watson struggled to a 75, the second-highest score he’s posted at the Masters.
“It’s golf,’’ he said. “There are going to be some good days and bad days. I had four three-putts. The greens were slower than I expected. I gave the [Green] Jacket up two weeks ago when I was here, so nobody owns the Jacket. Everybody is playing for it right now. “I didn’t feel any different [as defending champion]. I didn’t feel any more pressure.’’
* The first-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win the Masters 15 times in the previous 76 events. Dating to 1985, Trevor Immelman (2008) is the only player to carry the first-round lead/co-lead on to victory. … Americans have won eight of the last 13 Masters dating to 2000, but yesterday’s leaderboard was filled with non-Americans.
*** Of the six amateurs in the field, 14-year-old Tianlang Guan from China shot the lowest score (73). Steven Fox shot 76, Nathan Smith and T.J. Vogel 77s, Michael Weaver 78 and Northern Ireland’s Alan Dunbar shot an 83 after being 10-over through the first eight holes. … Jamie Donaldson’s hole-in-one on the sixth hole was the first ace on No. 6 since Chris DiMarco’s in 2004.