Golf:Dubbed 'Phil the Thrill' for his bold approach to the game, Phil Mickelson gave his fans exactly what they wanted to see with a roller-coaster opening round at the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
The American world number two, champion here last year, attracted the biggest galleries of the day as he mixed two sparkling eagles with a birdie and four bogeys on the way to a one-under-par 69.
Scoring was not easy on a slick East Lake layout that became even firmer on a hot and humid day and Mickelson ended the round just three strokes off the pace.
"It was a challenging test today," said the four-time winner after recording two eagles on the back nine. "There were some good scores and some high ones.
"I was able to shoot one kind of in the middle there with one under par, and I'll gladly take it. It's a better position than I started last year."
Left-hander Mickelson holed out from 115 yards to eagle the par-four 12th before faltering with a bogey at the 13th.
He then struck a superb three-wood to 11 feet at the par-five 15th before sinking the eagle putt but again dropped a shot at the very next hole.
"It's frustrating to follow eagles with bogeys," he said. "It was an up-and-down round.
"But I had some good fortune with those eagles, and I had some poor swings with those bogeys. This golf course will really penalise you for missing any shot."
There is plenty on the line for Mickelson this week with FedEx Cup honours and the number one ranking also in his sights.
For Mickelson to end Tiger Woods's run of 276 weeks at the top, he needs to win the Tour Championship or finish no worse than joint second with two other players.
"I'd love to take advantage of the opportunity," said Mickelson, who for the 12th time this year started a tournament with a chance to replace Woods as the game's leading player.
"I've had multiple opportunities for months, and I haven't played well enough to do it. Hopefully I do this week."
Victory at East Lake would also earn Mickelson the FedEx Cup, along with the $10 million bonus, but he accepts he made his task more difficult with erratic play in the first three playoff events.
"If I had played halfway decent, I would be in a position to control my own destiny," said Mickelson, who missed the cut at The Barclays, the first of the four playoff events.
Mickelson needs to win the Tour Championship to land the FedEx Cup, with the leading five players in the points standings going into this week finishing sufficiently far back.
England's Paul Casey inched closer to claiming FedEx Cup honours after charging into a three-way tie for the lead.
A notable absentee from next week's Ryder Cup, Casey fired a four-under-par 66 at East Lake Golf Club to set the pace with fellow
Englishman Luke Donald and Australian Geoff Ogilvy.
American world number six Jim Furyk carded a 67 while South Korean KJ Choi opened with a 68 in the final event of the PGA Tour's lucrative play-off series.
With the tree-lined layout playing fast and firm on a hot and humid day, scoring was difficult and only nine players in the elite field of 30 broke par.
"It's a very difficult golf course with the heat, the sunshine and a little bit of wind we had today," said Casey after a round featuring five birdies and one bogey.
"It's very tricky to get the golf ball close. If you do, do that, though, the greens are in perfect condition so you can make a lot of putts. And that's what I did today."
Although bitterly disappointed to miss out on selection for the European Ryder Cup team, Casey said he had not been fuelled by any extra motivation at the Tour Championship.
"I've got an opportunity to accomplish one of the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year...and I'm just trying to put myself in that position to win," he added.
"I'm not getting wrapped up in any sort of extra motivation. I don't need extra motivation. I'm motivated enough."
Donald, who was one of European captain Colin Montgomerie's three wildcard picks for the Ryder Cup, joined Casey at four under after mixing six birdies with two bogeys.
"I was able to make a few of my birdies with some long putts," the Englishman said. "I hit a decent amount of greens and took advantage of chances when I had them. It was a great, solid start."
A double winner on the PGA Tour, Donald has not triumphed on the US circuit since the 2006 Honda Classic.
"I certainly feel a certain amount of urgency (to win again)," he said. "I feel like I'm good enough, I work hard enough to win out here, I just haven't got it done the last few years."
Collated first round scores in the Tour Championship at East Lake GC, Atlanta, Georgia, US
(USA unless stated, par 70):
66Paul Casey (Eng), Luke Donald (Eng), Geoff Ogilvy (Aus)
67Jim Furyk
68K J Choi (Kor)
69Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan, Kevin Na, Jason Day (Aus)
70Tim Clark (Rsa), Ryan Moore, Kevin Streelman
71Nick Watney, Charley Hoffman, Ben Crane, Retief Goosen (Rsa), Robert Allenby (Aus), Ernie Els (Rsa)
72Matt Kuchar
73Dustin Johnson, Camilo Villegas (Col)
74Steve Stricker, Adam Scott (Aus), Justin Rose (Eng), Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, Bo Van Pelt
75Jeff Overton, Martin Laird (Sco), Bubba Watson