AUGUSTA, Ga. — Phil Mickelson has always said that, no matter what kind of form he’s in entering the Masters, the drive down Magnolia Lane transforms him.
Mickelson, already a positive soul by nature, feels magic when he arrives to the hallowed grounds of Augusta, where he’s won three green jackets.
The 48-year-old lefty, after Thursday’s opening-round 5-under 67, has put himself in early position to make history this week.
If Mickelson, who’s one shot off the lead shared by Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau, wins this Masters, he’ll become the oldest player to win a major championship. Julius Boros won the 1968 PGA Championship at 48 and four months. Mickelson is 48 and nine months.
A win also would give him four green jackets, which would tie him with Tiger Woods and Arnold Palmer.
These things, of course, are still a long way off for Mickelson, who won in 2004, 2006 and 2010. If you believe in karma and coincidence, when Mickelson won his last Masters, he also shot 67 in the first round.
Thursday’s round was, as usual for Mickelson, a roller-coaster ride. He had seven birdies and two bogeys, and both bogeys (on Nos. 10 and 11) were actually good bogeys that easily could have been double bogeys.
After shooting a front-nine 34, Mickelson bogeyed 10 and then hit a poor drive into the right trees on No. 11 and hit his second shot into the water.
“It looked like after bogeying 10 and 11 that would kill some momentum,’’ he said. “It was the other way around, because I made two great bogeys that should have and could have been doubles. After going in the water at 11 to hit that close and have an easy bogey and then to make a 6‑-footer for bogey on 10 after a terrible drive, those were almost momentum maintainers. That kept me in it.
“And then when I got to the holes that I could birdie I took advantage of it with some good shots.’’
Indeed, Mickelson rallied from 10 and 11 with birdies on the par-5 13th and 15th. Then he nearly had a hole-in-one on the par-3 16th and tapped in for birdie, and he saved par on 17 after a poor drive into the trees. He closed with a birdie on 18 with a monster drive and a wedge into the green.
“It was a lot of fun,’’ he said. “It’s fun to finish off the round. It’s fun to make a good par save on 17 and birdie the last. It’s fun to finish a good round off rather than leak one here or there coming in. So it was a good day.
“I was just hoping to shoot in the 60s. I thought there were some 66s out there. The greens are softer than they’ve ever been [from rain this week], and they’re not as fast as they normally are. So [Thursday] was a day to take advantage of it. I’m sure they’ll get firmer and faster as the week goes on.’’