Windblown misses in Masters opening don’t mean much to Mickelson

It typically doesn’t take a whole lot for Phil Mickelson to crack a smile on the golf course.

All it took Thursday was a little bit of wind. Well, a lot of wind, actually.

“Man, I love it,” Mickelson said of the howling gusts, which blew at a steady and brisk pace through the pines of Augusta National during Thursday’s opening round of the Masters Tournament. “I love it around here especially because the wind is going to magnify your misses and a lot of the guys that aren’t familiar with this course and where you can go to on certain holes for certain pins will miss in the wrong spot and end up making big numbers. Because I’ve played here so many times and just kind of know where to go.

“I might miss big, but I’ll miss it in the right spot and I’ll have a good chance to salvage par.”

Mickelson had his share of misses during Thursday’s opening round, but he more than made up for them in posting 1-under 71, which has him in contention for his fourth green jacket. Mickelson got off to a rousing start, highlighted by an eagle on No. 2, gave it all back and more and then finished strong in recording his 50th round under par at the Masters.

“I thought anything at par or better was going to be a great score and it is,” Mickelson said. “But because the greens are receptive, you can make birdies and you can stop balls on the greens and make easy pars on a lot of holes. The problem is there’s a lot of holes out here that you can have a big number on and you just have to be careful of that.”

For the most part, Mickelson avoided the big mistake that plagued the likes of Jordan Spieth (quadruple-bogey 9 on No. 15) and Billy Hurley (triple-bogey 8 on 15). After getting to 3-under through four holes, Mickelson gave shots back with back-to-back bogeys on 5 and 6 and then again on 10 and 11.

But those mistakes were minimal, particularly after his hot start. After reaching the par-5 No. 2 in two, Mickelson snaked home a lengthy eagle putt that drew a fist pump and mighty roar from patrons surrounding the green.

“That was cool,” Mickelson said of just his second eagle on the hole in his Masters career. “To make a putt on two for eagle and get the round started like that was exciting. But I knew that there were still a lot of holes left out there and just trying to make pars was kind of the goal.”

A birdie on No. 4 got Mickelson to 3-under before the bogeys moved him back above par. But he finished strong, making birdie on the par-3 13th after hitting his second shot into the back bunker and another on No. 16.

With windy conditions expected again for Friday’s round, Mickelson said his mentality will be the same.

“If conditions stay like this, absolutely,” he said. “You got to think par first and then if the birdie opportunities are there, great.”