Mickelson summons major magic; Woods putrid

? The final major of the year looks nothing like the others.

There was Phil Mickelson, swallowed up by the gallery and exchanging high-fives as he rediscovered some of his magic Thursday at the PGA Championship.

There was Ben Curtis, solid at a major for the first time since his British Open victory two years ago.

Nowhere to be found was Tiger Woods.

The guy who already won the Masters and British Open, and finished second in the U.S. Open, was buried behind 11 club pros in a tie for 113th after a 75, his worst position ever in a Grand Slam event.

“If you’re looking for me to shed a tear, it’s not going to happen,” Mickelson said. “We all know Sunday his name will be up there.”

Maybe so, but Mickelson is intent on keeping his own name on top.

An afterthought since the majors began in April, Mickelson came back to life Thursday on steamy Baltusrol with a 3-under 67 to join a crowd atop the leaderboard that included just about everyone but Woods.

Tiger Woods reacts after missing a birdie putt on the 10th hole. Woods shot 5-over-par 75 on Thursday in Springfield, N.J.

Not that anyone felt sorry for him.

“There’s probably plenty of guys happy to see him down the leaderboard for a change,” Stuart Appleby said after a late bogey dropped him into the six-way tie at 67. “I don’t think you’re going to get some, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry. What a pity.’ You guys can write about someone else for a change.”

Mickelson got through the opening seven holes – among the most punishing stretch in golf – at 1 over par. Then, he turned matters over to his putter. He knocked in a pair of 35-foot birdie putts around the turn, made another long birdie on the 14th and joined the leaders with a two-putt birdie on the 18th.

“It wasn’t quite as stressful a round,” Mickelson said.

Trevor Immelman, Rory Sabbatini and Stephen Ames also shot 67, with Ames having a chance for the outright lead until his 20-foot eagle putt slid by the cup.

It was the largest logjam in the first round of a major since a six-way tie at the 1989 British Open.

Retief Goosen birdied his last two holes for a 68, while Vijay Singh did the same to salvage a 70.

On a steamy day in the 90s that required maintenance crews to douse the greens with water, 27 players managed to break par on the 7,392-yard Lower Course at Baltusrol.

Woods was not among them. Not even close.

Phil Mickelson tips his cap to the crowd after his round at the PGA Championship. Mickelson was tied for the lead after a 3-under-par 67 Thursday in Springfield, N.J.

He three-putted his first hole for bogey, then dropped shots on three of the easiest holes on the course. His 75 was not his worst score in a major in the opening round, but his position – a tie for 113th – was his worst since a tie for 104th in last year’s PGA Championship.

He dropped his putter in disgust and flung an iron after his approach spun off the green, yet Woods said his patience kept it from being worse.

“I’m still in it,” he said. “There won’t be too many guys under par by the end of the week. Hopefully, I can get myself there over the next three days.”

That’s assuming he gets three more days.

Mickelson hasn’t been this excited since he showed up at Augusta National having won his third PGA Tour title of the young season. But he finished 10th in the Masters, where the only noise he made was an argument with Singh over spike marks, and hasn’t been the same.

He took himself out of contention at the U.S. Open with a 77 in the second round and tied for 33rd. He broke par only once at St. Andrews and tied for 61st. Some began to wonder if that breakthrough major won last year at the Masters might have been an aberration.

“I have a little bit different feeling heading into this tournament than I’ve had in some of the others,” Mickelson said. “I feel a lot more confident in my game than I did heading into the other majors. And as I said earlier in the week, I really want to put everything I have into finishing off the year right.”