Arnold Palmer Invitational 2012: Tiger Woods Three Back, Phil Mickelson 1-over

“I had two three-putts, but also made a couple bombs, “ Tiger Woods said about his first round play at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the Bay Hill Club. “ I didn’t really do anything great today.”

He said he drove the ball well.  In fact, Woods hit nine of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation.  Perhaps more telling are the three stats:  fairways hit, where he was 34th; greens hit, 10th  and putts per round, 97th.  And that was before play was completed. 

So one number that stands out are Woods’ putts.  He’s still taking too many.  But the good news is he scored better than he putted.  He’s in fourth place after an average round for him.

And there was more good news.  He’s able to go after drives.

“I’m in a position where I can hit it again.  That’s something that’s been missing for a while,” he said after mentioning that his normal drives are going 310.  “Ball is flying forever.” 

The putts he charged off to poor speed. “That’s something I have to concentrate on,” he added, “I just need to be more committed.”

As Woods looks to add a seventh Bay Hill title to his resume, he is also looking two weeks down the road to The Masters.

He played a practice round there last Sunday.

“It was typical Augusta non-championship week,” he explained. “It’s a little bit slower, a little bit more wet.”  There were mud balls, he noted, adding that with damp conditions, the course played long. “Granted, come tournament time, as you know, it changes from Wednesday to Thursday.  We play practice rounds all the way up until tournament time, and it changes.”         

Woods has had no additional flare-ups of the Achilles, but has been getting treatment.

Phil Mickelson

Phil Mickelson posted a less than stellar one-over-par in the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. 

“I had a middle stretch there of four holes  where I played five-over. So I fought hard to get back to one over,” he explained.  “ It was important to get a few birdies to get it back to close to par because if I can come out tomorrow and get a hot round, I can get right back in it for the weekend.”

Mickelson indicated that The Masters is in the back of his mind this time of year.

“What is good about that is regardless of how I play, I’m going to fight hard on every shot and I’m going to be working on my game because I have something to keep striving for even if I don’t play well,” he said about his mindset.  

He admitted that his round was a disappointment because he has been hitting the ball well.

“I’m going to try not to put too much into this first round because I’m putting phenomenal,” he added.  “I just didn’t show that today.”

Kathy Bissell is a Golf Writer for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand or from official interview materials from the USGA, PGA Tour or PGA of America.