WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. – Tim Mickelson muddled his numbers early in his first official round as brother Phil’s new caddie but thankfully caught the error before the trigger was pulled. From there, it was smooth sailing. Phil opened his Greenbrier Classic campaign with a 3-under 67, his best score in now his fourth appearance at the event, to sit in a tie for 19th. He sits six shots back of leader Sebastian Munoz. It was Phil’s first PGA TOUR round since parting ways with longtime looper Jim “Bonesâ€� Mackay, who has since signed a deal to be an on-course reporter for NBC and Golf Channel. Mackay was on the bag for 41 of Mickelson’s 42 TOUR victories, including all five major championships. But now the job belongs to younger brother Tim, at least for the remainder of the season. “I’ll be the first to admit, I had one bad number for him on the second hole but I caught it before he hit … besides that easy peasy,â€� Tim said. “I just went off the middle number instead of the front but as soon as I looked up I caught myself, my eyes aren’t that bad, and I knew it was off. So we fixed it.â€� The pair were clearly enjoying their time together, constantly laughing and looking very relaxed throughout. “I think any time you have a change of environment it brings about a new energy, but more than that, Tim is one my favorite people to be around. We really had a lot of fun together today,â€� Phil added. “We just enjoy being together. He kind of understands my sense of humor. We tell some jokes and laugh throughout the day and we had a good time.â€� Asked if he dare invoke the famous veto powers Mackay used to have, allowing him to choose one time a year to call Mickelson off a shot, Tim was straight to the point. “Negative ghost rider,â€� he smiled. “And I don’t want it. I’ve known him for 40 years but I don’t know his game at that level yet so I’m not even going to try to step in.â€� Mickelson battled a little bit throughout the round – finding just nine fairways and 10 greens. He also hit a spectator on the head with a wayward shot on the 11th hole. But he rode his scrambling to a decent score, which keeps alive the dream of breaking a near four-year win drought. “It was a good start for me. I wasn’t firing on all cylinders and I just kind of managed my game throughout the day to shoot a decent number,â€� he said. “The last few holes I think I kind of keyed in on a few things, so I am hopeful coming out tomorrow. “If I drive the ball well, my iron play has been pretty strong lately, so I should be able to make some birdies out here.â€�
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