Phil Mickelson shot a career best of 8 under 63 on Thursday during the first round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera. This was an amazing turn for Mickelson, especially since this is the first time he has scored under 70 while playing in the US West Coast.
He started the round with a birdie that was followed by sharp shots. His misses weren’t even that profound and his putts dropped more often than was expected. His confidence also started to grow after sinking each one of his 8 birdies.
“There’s three more rounds to go,” he said. “But I feel like I’m back on track,” said Mickelson.
The Riviera was also very cooperative. It was in perfect shape and the conditions were just right for scoring.
Right behind Mickelson was Scott McCarron with 64. Dustin Johnson, Jim Furyk, Luke Donald, and K.J. Choi followed McCarron with a score of 66.
All in all, the Riviera saw 52 players score under 60 during the first round.
The mess of photographers, however, was there for one young man, 17-year-old Ryo Ishikawa. He debut on the tour with a least 100 members of the Japanese media and a dozen or so others that were there to find out how he would perform. He, however, scored a disappointing 73.
“I had been nervous for 18 holes,” he said. “I feel like my body has been stiff all day.”
Ishikawa shot to fame after he made history by winning the Japan Golf Tour at 15.
Another player who debut on the Tour was Vincent Johnson.