Both Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker shot 4-under 66 on Thursday in the St. Jude Classic and have vaulted into an 11-player tie for second place behind Seamus Power of Ireland.
“Oh, it was a great start for me,” Mickelson said (h/t ESPN). “I ended up finishing off the round. I had a nice little stretch there in the middle where I went birdie, eagle, and I was able to finish it off with some pars after some poor tee shots.
“It’s a good start. It’s not like you’re trying to win the tournament on Thursday. But it’s nice not to put myself too far behind so I’m playing catch-up. So another good round tomorrow will put me right in it for the weekend.”
“I still feel like I should play out here. I belong out here. I’m trying to stick with that,” said Stricker.
“If you don’t make any, you don’t lose too much ground and you can make it up quick,” Mickelson said.
“It’s just a course that’s hard to go really low on. That’s something I’ve picked up on this golf course over the years. There’s a lot more big numbers on this course than you think. Water comes into play. There’s just some challenges. So I ended up eliminating the big numbers and fortunate enough to salvage par on No. 9 and 12 in today’s round.”