Phil Mickelson right in contention for his third HSBC, tied at T3 with Bubba and Hanson
Adam Scott and Luis Oosthuizen might be leading the field at the Olazabal Course but the two-time winner of the WGC-HSBC Champions, Phil Mickelson, is right in contention for his third title.
‘Lefty’ shot a magnificent 6-under 66 at the Olazabal Course on Thursday. He is currently tied at T3 along with the current Masters champion Bubba Watson and European Peter Hanson.
Just like every other player on the field, Phil too took advantage of the par-5s. He birdied three of the par-5s and eagled another.
Shooting a flawless round must have been very refreshing and encouraging for ‘Lefty’, who is trying his best to overcome the disappointment of the Ryder Cup.
Phil not only hit some long drives but they were accurate too. This combo set him up pretty well for his approaches. Luckily for Phil, the irons were well polished too.
“I played from the fairway the entire round,” Mickelson said. “My irons were good and I made some good putts, so I had a very stress-free, pretty easy 66 today, and I'm excited about these next three rounds”.
Opening up with a solid round is always an encouraging sign for a player. Back in 2007 and 2009, the left handed golfer shot opening rounds of 66 and went on to win on both the occasions.
“I think the reason I was so calm today was I drove the ball extremely well and hit every fairway; I missed one fairway by two yards,” Mickelson said. “Because I drove the ball very well, it allowed me to be aggressive and try to make birdies”.
Meanwhile, Bubba Watson and Peter Hanson are right up at the top. Watson’s round of 6-under 66 was pretty eventful, as he shot seven birdies, three bogeys and an eagle.
The current Masters champion and world number 8, Watson, too took advantage of the par-5s. However, shooting three bogeys was not what the doctor had prescribed.
In fact the American opened up with a bogey on the tenth hole but soon got his act together by eagling the par-5 11th.
Bubba must shoot a solid round on Friday, so that he can gain some momentum going in to the final two rounds.
Tags: