Masters Standings 2012: Where Will Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods Finish?

Both Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods teed off Thursday in search of another green jacket.

Both are headed for top 10 finishes, and for Mickelson and Woods that's disappointing. It shows how dominant they've been at Augusta National. Anything but winning is a disappointment.

Mickelson and Woods struggled throughout their rounds with consistency with the drivers, and their final finish will be affected if that continues.

Woods sits in a better position at even par. Mickelson finished the day at two over par.

Woods looked poised to have one of his better opening rounds before stumbling on the last two holes. Woods was two under par before bogeys at holes 17 and 18.

Mickelson was able to salvage his round at the end to put him in position to at least have a chance. Mickelson birded three of the last five holes to bring himself out of a huge deficit.

Mickelson almost lost the Masters on day one due to his errant play on hole 10. He lost his ball on an errant drive and finished with a triple bogey on the hole.

The key for both Woods and Mickelson will be to find consistency with their tee shots.

Woods tied for last by only hitting six of 14 fairways while Mickelson found nine of the 14 fairways off the tee in round one.

Both players should be encouraged that their scores are respectable despite the ugly statistics. Especially Woods, who did an incredible job of finding a way to salvage pars despite his struggles.

Mickelson and Woods are both clutch putters and that will keep them in the tournament. However, the tee shot is vital for these players to have a chance to win.

The tee shot led them to have to scramble for pars instead of going for birdies.

For example, Woods finished middle of the pack by hitting 12 of the greens in regulation.

Mickelson sits near the bottom after round one by hitting just eight greens in regulation.

Woods started off his round by missing the first two fairways. It is a battle the rest of the hole to just save par; He will not win the tournament by continually missing fairways.

Mickelson shows time after time that he has the most clever short game in golf. However, if he has to use that short game, it means he isn't finding greens in regulation like round one; He will not win the tournament with this approach.

It's all about winning for both these players. They both have green jackets and are not concerned with a solid finish.

It doesn't look like either player will get the job done this year.

Both are too talented to not be in the hunt at the end of the tournament. They showed on Thursday that they are two of the best scrambling players on the PGA Tour.

However, the lack of consistency off the tee continuously causes both Mickelson and Woods to struggle to find a rhythm.

Mickelson and Woods make clutch putts. This will keep them in the tournament, but making lengthy par putts wears on a player.

They will score low on the par fives. That will keep them in the tournament.

However, the field is too deep. Inconsistent ball-striking will catch up to both these players in the end.

Mickelson and Woods will finish in or near the top-10 come Sunday—a solid finish. It's not about being solid for these two players though. It's about being great.