Phil Mickelson Will Make Weekend Charge at HP Byron Nelson Championship

Phil Mickelson is playing in the HP Byron Nelson Championship for the first time since 2007. Surely he imagined that he would get off to a better start than he actually has.

Mickelson won the tournament in 1996, finished third in 2007 and has recorded six top-15 finishes at the event. Much to his chagrin, he sits at even par after shooting a 70 in the first round.

Lefty typically dominates this course and posts some of his lowest numbers here. Today, he birdied the first hole but bogeyed nine. On the back nine, he birdied 16 before putting up a 4 on the par-3 17th.

Even though Mickelson didn't get off to a great start today, he kept himself within reasonable striking distance of the leaders. Marc Leishman, Ryan Palmer and Andres Gonzales are all tied for the lead at 5-under. Nobody has begun to run away with it yet, as most of the competitors sit at either 2-under or 1-under, making it that much easier for Mickelson to make a weekend push for victory.

His knowledge of the course and past success in the tournament will be noticed even more so in the coming rounds as he will get a chance to play four straight days at a course he is comfortable and proven at.

The question is, which Mickelson are we going to get this weekend? My guess is that we'll get the one who demolished Tiger Woods at Pebble Beach—the powerhouse, determined Mickelson who can't be beat when he is on his game. He knows this course better than any other golfer in the tournament, and that obviously gives him a huge advantage.

He just got inducted into the Hall of Fame last week, so he'll be amped up for the last three rounds of this tournament, looking to prove yet again that he belongs in the discussion of the best golfers of the day.

He's been playing pretty well this season, finishing in the top 10 four times and should be able to easily add another one of those by the time Sunday rolls around. He'll be looking to avenge his sub-par performance at The Players Championship last week.

The only way he won't finish toward the top of the pack is if he tries to take those perplexing shots that he has become accustomed to. Anything reminiscent of his fourth-hole shot at The Masters when he tried to hit it out of the trees will put him in a bad position. Mickelson seems to have realized that he needs to stay within his boundaries and it will end favorably for him.