Bubba Watson birdied four of the last six holes at TPC Scottsdale to shoot 7-under-par 64 and tie Y.E. Yang of South Korea for the lead after one round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Defending champion Phil Mickelson, who withdrew from the Farmers Insurance Open last week because of a back injury and was unsure for several days if he would be able to play, opened with a 71. He made five birdies, but also had three bogeys and a double-bogey 5 on the 12th hole.
“My back’s fine, my game was a little rusty,” Mickelson said.
Watson, who has won four times on the PGA Tour but not since the 2012 Masters, was coming of a tie for 23rd last week in the Farmers in his first tournament of the year.
“It was a good round,” Watson said. “Coming off last week, I knew my ball-striking was good. This golf course, if your ball-striking is good, you can shoot some good numbers here.
“I made some putts right off the bat on the first two holes and then just played steady. Hit a lot of greens, didn’t make too many mistakes, didn’t miss too many fairways. Just played solid.”
Yang, who has not won on the PGA Tour since taking down Tiger Woods in the final round of the 2009 PGA Championship at Hazeltine, had two birdies and a bogey before catching fire on the back nine.
“(Since winning the PGA) I tried to force a lot of my swings and putting, was being a little bit too aggressive, trying too hard,” said the 42-year-old Yang, who has won 11 times as a pro. “So I eased up on everything.
“I think you have to be aggressive … at the same time, you can’t be too aggressive. You really have to balance it out.”
Pat Perez, who tied for second last week in San Diego, posted a 65 to tie for third with Kevin Stadler, William McGirt, Greg Chalmers of Australia, Harris English, Chris Kirk and Matt Jones of Australia.
