Quadruple-bogey 9 mars Mickelson's season-opener

NAPA, Calif. – Other than the quadruple-bogey 9 he made at the fifth hole, Phil Mickelson’s opening round of 75 at the Safeway Open wasn’t all that bad.

The disaster came on just his fifth hole of the new 2019-20 season, as Mickelson hit two straight shots from the left rough out of bounds, taking two penalty shots. The debacle “kind of ruined the round,” but not Mickelson’s mood as he talked openly to reporters.

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“I tried to carve, kind of cut a 5-, and then ultimately, a 6-iron out of the rough and the ball just kind of shot left off the face out of bounds, and it happened twice,” he said. “I'll have to rethink that hole a little bit because it did the same thing last year in the final round, I ended up hitting two out of bounds as well. So that hole has bitten me.”

He missed a putt from just inside 15 feet for an 8. Vaughn Taylor also made a 9 at the fifth.

The big score could not totally obscure two big changes for Mickelson so far this season: a new physique and a new philosophy with the driver. He hit just three of 14 fairways, but said that was misleading.

“I’ve been working on this little low cut driver to try to get it in play,” he said, “and I ended up not getting it in play today, but it was just off the fairway. So the point is that it's getting rid of the big miss. Like I missed one big on 18 today and I didn't do that all day. I feel like I can tee it down low and like I've got a shot that's not going to miss big. I hit it three or four times today and all of them were just in the rough.”

As for the new physique, it goes to a change in his diet dating to July. He’s lost 25-30 pounds, and this has come about partly through fasts of 36 to 48 hours every week, during which he still drinks his specialty coffee, plus a strict avoidance of carbs and sugar. He feels more energetic, he said, and his mood has improved.

Even his mood about making a 9.

“If it were a few months ago, I would let it get to me a lot more than I did today,” he said. “I actually have a lot more confidence and energy and excitement to play, and my attitude's just a lot better. So I'll come out tomorrow, I'm going to shoot a good round. I'll shoot 6, 7 under par tomorrow, I really believe that. I believe the game is close enough to do that.”