The Daily Wrap-up, Round 1: CA Championship

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Phil Mickelson had nine birdies in the opening round of the CA Championship at Doral.

DORAL, Fla. (AP) -- Phil Mickelson can't recall ever hitting the ball this long or having a short game this superb, and it showed Thursday when he chipped in three times on his way to a 7-under 65 for a share of the lead in the World Golf Championships-CA Championship.

RELATED LINKS

Leaderboard: Round 1 scores
Round 2 tee times
Scorecard: Phil Mickelson
The Live Report: Round 1
Auclair: Enough about the knee
Player interviews
Notebook: Tidbits from the course
Photos: Round 1
Ross: Tragedy, triumph for Singh
Sirius | XM Podcast: Round 1

VIDEO

Round 1 highlights
Mickelson chips in on 17, 18
Mickelson discusses Round 1
PGA TOUR Today: Round 1

Tiger Woods had few complaints about his game, but he sure didn't get the same results.

In his first stroke-play event since winning the U.S. Open last summer, Woods managed only three birdies on a Blue Monster course where he has never finished out of the top 10. He wound up with a 71 to tie for 40th in an 80-man field.

"It was not like I was playing poorly and shot 71," Woods said. "I played well and just didn't make any putts."

The problem for him was just about everyone else did.

Jeev Milkha Singh ran off five birdies in a six-hole stretch around the turn and was the first player to post a 65 on a balmy, breezy afternoon. Retief Goosen, switching back to a conventional putter, ran off eight birdies in his round of 65. And the real surprise was Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand, who birdied eight of his first 12 holes to join the leaders.

The group one shot behind included British Open and PGA champion Padraig Harrington, who didn't feel as though he did much of anything right and had his best score of the year.

"I think I hit two fairways with my driver today. So it's not like I played good golf or anything like that," Harrington said. "It was all about the score."

For Mickelson, it was mostly about his finish.

He hit into the water on No. 3 and took double bogey, found the water again on the par-3 fourth hole and chipped in for par. Mickelson was even through eight holes and was hopeful of a good back nine that would allow him a chance Friday to get into contention.

• To read the remainder of this story, click here.

ENOUGH ABOUT THE KNEE
By T.J. Auclair, PGATOUR.COM Interactive Producer

DORAL, Fla. -- If you didn't know better, you might think Tiger Woods was just back from a short break.

Heck, that's what caddie Stevie Williams was thinking. He told his boss, "It's like we just took three or four weeks off and here we are again."

In a way, it has been a short break. After all, it was only two weeks ago that Tiger teed it up in the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, where he lost in the second round to Tim Clark.

Also, Thursday's opening-round, 1-under 71 at Doral in the World Golf Championships-CA Championship that featured three birdies and two bogeys was rather ho-hum for the world's No. 1 player. At day's end, Tiger was tied for 40th, trailing a foursome of leaders -- Jeev Milkha Singh, Retief Goosen, Prayad Marksaeng and Phil Mickelson -- by six shots.

"It was a little bit frustrating on those greens today," said a nonchalant Woods, who used a total of 28 putts in Round 1. "I hit so many putts that looked good. I thought I hit my lines and thought I had the right speed, but they just didn't go in."

To read the remainder of this story, click here.

Top 5 notables at CA Championship

Name Score Position Comment Friday tee time Padraig Harrington 6 under T5 Harrington had six birdies -- three on each side -- and appears to be rounding into form to make a run at a Masters title. 11:05 a.m. Camilo Villegas 5 under T9 The young Colombian is a fan-favorite in South Florida and today he rewarded them with a very good ballstriking round. 12:15 p.m. Rory McIlroy 4 under T15 The 19-year-old opened with an eagle and got to 5 under at one point, but even though he gave one back is in great position. 11:25 a.m. Vijay Singh 3 under T17 Singh hit just half his fairways and 11 of 18 greens, but scraped it around well enough to not shoot himself out of it. 10:55 a.m. Tiger Woods 1 under T40 Woods made just 1 of 11 putts from outside of 10 feet in an otherwise good round; opened with a 71 last time he won here. 12:35 p.m.

Thursday's Best

EASIEST HOLE TOUGHEST HOLE The par-5 first hole was easiest with a Thursday scoring average of 4.175. EAGLES: 5 BIRDIES: 57 PARS: 17 BOGEYS: 1 OTHERS: 0 The par-4 18th was toughest with a Thursday scoring average of 4.375. EAGLES: 0 BIRDIES: 3 PARS: 52 BOGEYS: 17 OTHERS: 8

SHOT OF THE DAY ROUND OF THE DAY Phil Mickelson closed out his round in dramatic fashion by chipping in for birdie on Nos. 17 and 18. Watch his shot Phil Mickelson had 9 birdies en route to his 7-under 65 that earned him a share of the lead. Check out his scorecard

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"After this, I might have an endorsement deal with Playgirl or something like that." -- Henrik Stenson on stripping down to his underwear to hit a shot out of the mud.

INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Brian Katrek offers these observations from Thursday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.

To say that Tiger Woods is one of the most closely watched players in the history of the game is an understatement. So, if you want to make an original observation about the No. 1 player in the world, you better look close. Here's one you haven't heard. Most know that Tiger's headcover for his driver is a tiger. Some know that the 3-wood headcover is a Kiwi. Few know that Steve Williams has had trouble keeping the Kiwi on the 3-wood without it falling off. This week, problem solved. Williams added a small rubber band to the cloth under the plush bird that clamps down and keeps it from falling off. Brilliant. Golf is a game of adjustments.

Woods got a good chuckle before his round got started on Thursday when Shingo Katayama came out to the driving range. It wasn't the cowboy hat that made Tiger laugh, it was the oversized 7-iron. Katayama has a black training club with him as part of his armful of training devices and the head of the club is the size of a laptop computer. Shingo did not hit any balls with the big club, at least while Tiger was watching.

No one got off to a better start on Thursday than Sean O'Hair. He eagled his first two holes of the day. The biggest Eagles fan on the PGA TOUR was a fan of eagles in Round 1.

FIRST-ROUND NOTEBOOK: CA CHAMPIONSHIP
By Joel Schuchmann, PGA TOUR Staff

DORAL, Fla. -- Phil Mickelson matched the third-least number of putts for nine holes in PGA TOUR history for his back nine on Thursday with eight, aided by chip-ins on his final two holes. Mickelson needed just 20 putts on the day.

• Stan Utley also used only six putts on the front nine of the second round of the 2002 Air Canada Championship. Bill Nary used only seven putts on the back nine of the third round of the 1952 El Paso Open.

• Other players besides Mickelson to use only eight putts are Jim Colbert( front nine, final round, 1967 Greater Jacksonville Open); Sam Trahan (back nine, final round, 1979 IVB Philadelphia Golf Classic), Bill Calfee (back nine, third round, 1980 Greater Greensboro Open); Kenny Knox (back nine, first round, 1989 MCI Heritage Classic); John Inman, (front nine, final round, 1994 MCI Heritage Classic); and Tom Pernice Jr. (back nine, third round, 2005 Funai Classic at Walt Disney World Resort).

• The 65 posted by Mickelson was one off his career low at the Doral Blue Course, a first-round 64 in 2005.

• To read the remainder of this story, click here.

KODAK CHALLENGE: The first-of-its-kind competition for PGA TOUR players, The Kodak Challenge celebrates beautiful holes and memorable moments on the PGA TOUR. The Kodak Challenge offers $1 million to the winner There will be one designated Kodak Challenge Hole at 24 different PGA TOUR tournaments in 2008, with this week's featured hole the 663-yard 18th hole.

Players, who must play at least 18 of the holes during the season to be eligible, will count their lowest score relative to par on the Kodak Challenge Hole made during an official competition round. The player, with the lowest cumulative score in relation to par at the end of the challenge, wins.

For more on the Kodak Challenge, click here.

This week's Kodak Challenge hole

HOLE: The par-5, 560-yard 8th at Doral Golf Resort and Spa LAST YEAR: The 16th played to a stroke average of 4.652, with players recording 3 eagles, 129 birdies, 158 pars, 20 bogeys and 3 double bogeys DESCRIPTION: On this par 5, the lake is very much in play for longer hitters. Numerous palm trees beyond the bunker on the right punish any bailout to that side. Many players go for the green in two, but to do so requires a long, accurate drive usually into the winter wind from the southwest.(Click here for Doral Golf Resort tour)