CASTLE ROCK, COLO. ? Criticized by some for overly aggressive play, Phil Mickelson won’t hear any of those remarks this week.

With its modified Stableford scoring system that puts a premium on birdies and eagles, The International suits Mickelson perfectly.

Mickelson, who won the event in 1993 and ’97 and finished second to Ernie Els in 2000, said he’s bored by routinely hitting fairways and hitting irons to the center of greens.

“I play my best golf when I play aggressive, when I attack, when I create shots,” he said. “This is a perfect fit for me. Birdie rewards you more than bogey hurts you.”

The International’s scoring system gives a player five points for eagle, two for birdie, zero for par, minus-1 for bogey and minus-3 for double bogey or worse.

“You can be a little more aggressive in this format because you know it’s really going to pay off,” Sergio Garcia said.

“If everything goes your way, you can really go out there and go for it,” Els said.

Six of the world’s top 10 golfers are entered, including Mickelson (No. 2), Els (No. 3), Garcia (No. 5) and Davis Love III (No. 7). Tiger Woods is taking the week off.

Stadler leads Western

Benton Harbour, Mich. Kevin Stadler, the son of PGA golfer Craig Stadler, shot an 8-under-par 63 to take the first-round lead in the Western Amateur on Wednesday. Stadler, of Englewood, Colo., built a three-stroke lead over the field. Tied for second were 1997 Western Amateur champion Danny Green, 45, of Jackson, Tenn., and Randy Lowry, 15, of Spring, Texas.

U.S. set for Curtis Cup

Fox Chapel, Pa. U.S. Amateur champion Meredith Duncan and Senior Amateur champion Carol Semple Thompson will lead the United States team in the two-day Curtis Cup matches against Britain and Ireland beginning Saturday.

Thompson, a former U.S. Amateur and British Amateur champion, will be playing in the Curtis Cup for a record 12th time.

The weekend matches at Fox Chapel Golf Club in suburban Pittsburgh will be among Duncan’s last as an amateur. After she tries to defend her title in the women’s amateur Aug. 12-17 in Scarborough, N.Y., she plans to attend the LPGA tour school in the fall.

The women’s equivalent of the Ryder Cup, the Curtis Cup is contested every two years and alternates between the United States and Britain or Ireland.