It was Mickelson’s highest score at Torrey Pines since a 78 in the third round of 2005.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — No momentous shots for Tiger Woods. No bogeys, either.
The 14-time major winner opened his 2012 season with a solid first round Thursday at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, shooting a 2-under 70 that left him three strokes behind co-leader Rory McIlroy, his playing partner.
“Hit the ball well all day today. It was a good ball-striking round,” Woods said. “I had a hard time reading the greens out there. The greens were pretty grainy and I just had a hard time getting a feel for it. Toward the end I hit some pretty good putts but overall I got fooled a lot on my reads.”
McIlroy shot a 67, as did Robert Karlsson. But the best shots of the day came from Sergio Garcia (71) and Jose Manuel Lara (70) — each had a hole-in-one on the par-3 12th hole.
Gareth Maybin, Richard Finch and Jean-Baptiste Gonnet were one shot behind the two leaders. Top-ranked Luke Donald, who played alongside Woods and McIlroy, shot a 71. Second-ranked Lee Westwood (72) and fourth-ranked Martin Kaymer (77) had poor starts and never challenged.
McIlroy, the U.S. Open champion from Northern Ireland, had three birdies on his first four holes but erratic driving led to two bogeys on the next four. He steadied himself with three birdies on his back nine, including a chip-in on No. 8 from just off the green.
“It’s a nice way to start the competitive season, I suppose,” McIlroy said. “I didn’t feel like I played that good. I definitely didn’t strike the ball as good as I have been the last couple of weeks. I think it’s just because your first competitive round of the season, card in your hand, you can get a little bit tentative or a little apprehensive.”
Woods missed several birdie chances, including a 6-footer on his ninth, the 18th hole. He also struggled with his approach shots on a course that was playing tougher than usual with its thick rough, resulting in many 25- and 30-footers coming up short.
Levin, Stanley shoot 62s at Torrey Pines
SAN DIEGO — Spencer Levin and Kyle Stanley knew they had to post low scores on the easier North Course at Torrey Pines to get off to a good start Thursday in the Farmers Insurance Open. It went even better than they expected.
Stanley made eagle on his final hole for a 10-under 62, his best score in two years on the PGA Tour. Levin shot 29 on the back nine and had a 62, matching his career best on tour.
They were a shot ahead of FedEx Cup champion Bill Haas, who had a double bogey on his 15th hole and still managed a 63. The top 12 on the leaderboard played the North, which played slightly more than 31/2 strokes easier than the South Course, which hosted the U.S. Open four years ago.
The best score from the South was Marc Turnesa at 66.
Phil Mickelson, meanwhile, went south on the South. The three-time champion and San Diego favorite thought his game was rounding into form when he came home from the Humana Challenge. Instead, he hit into 11 bunkers, missed a 3-foot birdie putt on the final hole and signed for a 77.
It was Mickelson’s highest score at Torrey Pines since a 78 in the third round of 2005.