CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Phil Mickelson has gone nine months since he finished among the top 20, and it looks as though that streak is about to end at the Wells Fargo Championship. RELATED: Leaderboard | Rickie Fowler solid in return The 50-year-old Mickelson kept his focus Thursday at Quail Hollow and blistered the course for a 7-under 64 to build a two-shot lead after the opening round. All but one of his eight birdies was longer than about 5 feet. Mickelson ran off five birdies in a six-hole stretch around the turn. He closed with two birdies and a superb par save on the par-4 ninth for his best score since a 63 in the second round of the Travelers Championship last June. Lefty missed the cut last week in the Valspar Championship and said he was concerned about losing concentration and dropping shots during stretches of a round. That wasn’t an issue at Quail Hollow, a course he loves for its mixture of birdie holes and tough par holes. “The biggest thing for me was I was able to say in the present and focus on each shot,” Mickelson said. “My mind has been prone to wander.” K.H. Lee had a 66 in the morning, while Innisbrook runner-up Keegan Bradley had a 66 in the afternoon. The group at 67 included former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland, Tommy Fleetwood and Keith Mitchell, who reached 6 under until a sloppy double bogey on the long par-3 sixth hole and closed with a bogey. Still, Mitchell was 15 shots better than his previous round, an 82 on Sunday at Innisbrook. Mickelson attributed most of the fun to his grouping of everyman Joel Dahmen (68) and old-soul Lanto Griffin, who struggled to a 75 as he tries to secure a spot in the U.S. Open. Dahmen had tweeted that a round with Mickelson was on his bucket list and that he looked forward to see how his game would stack up against the best on the PGA TOUR Champions. Mickelson has won twice on the senior circuit since turning 50 last summer. “He’s a great guy,” Dahmen said. “He’s so full of … information, would be a good way to put it. I poked him a little bit, and he played awesome. I was trying not to get my butt kicked too bad.” Mostly, though, this was Phil looking like the old Phil. His lone bogey came on No. 11, his second hole of the afternoon round. His longest birdie putt was 15 feet on the 341-yard 14th, reachable off the tee but tough to get it close to the back right pin. Mickelson got up-and-down from a bunker on the par-5 15th hole. From there, he barely missed with his irons. It started with an approach into 5 feet on No. 16. After a par save from right of the green on the par-3 17th, Mickelson hit into 3 feet on the 18th, 5 feet on the 507-yard first hole. He finished out his round with a long two-putt birdie on the par-5 seventh, and a beautiful pitch to 5 feet with the pin on an upper shelf. Quail Hollow wasn’t easy for some of the other stars. Rory McIlroy, a two-time winners at the Wells Fargo, opened with a 72 as he tries to make it to the weekend for the first time since Bay Hill two months ago. U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau birdied two of his last three holes for a 70. DeChambeau was going along fine until a big drive found a bunker, and he sent his next shot out-of-bounds to the right, leading to double bogey. Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele each shot 72. Jon Rahm had eight bogeys in his first tournament since the Masters and shot 76. Justin Thomas held his own with a 69 in the morning. Mickelson said he has been doing some mental exercises, though maybe he should have just asked the TOUR earlier to put him with Dahmen and Griffin. Dahmen said some of the discussions inside the ropes were different from other players. “We got in some dopamine talk, frontal lobe and dopamine, and then the units of it, which I was actually impressed with,” Dahmen said. “Then he hit a 6-iron to 3 feet, so he must have had his dopamine correct on that one.” Mickelson is No. 115 in the world and still not eligible for the U.S. Open. His last victory was more than two years ago at Pebble Beach. His last good opportunity to win was at the World Golf Championship in Tennessee last summer. “There’s nothing physically holding me back from playing at a high level, but you cannot make mistakes at this level,” he said. “The guys out here are just so good, and I’ve been making a lot of errors, just simply not being mentally sharp.”
Phil Mickelson leads by two shots at Wells Fargo Championship
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2nd Round 3-Balls – R. Werenski / R. Sloan / C. Young | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Carson Young | +125 |
Richy Werenski | +185 |
Roger Sloan | +230 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – J. Walker / A. Smalley / S. Gutschewski | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Alex Smalley | -140 |
Jimmy Walker | +250 |
Scott Gutschewski | +335 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – G. Higgo / L. Griffin / D. Thompson | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Davis Thompson | +140 |
Garrick Higgo | +185 |
Lanto Griffin | +200 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – J. Vegas / B. Hossler / D. Wu | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Beau Hossler | +130 |
Dylan Wu | +200 |
Jhonattan Vegas | +200 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – S. Kang / D. Lipsky / S. Stevens | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Sam Stevens | +120 |
David Lipsky | +170 |
Sung Kang | +280 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – H. Buckley / J. Suh / H. Hall | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Justin Suh | +150 |
Hayden Buckley | +185 |
Harry Hall | +190 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – S. Power / R. Brehm / J. Dahmen | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Seamus Power | +135 |
Joel Dahmen | +160 |
Ryan Brehm | +250 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – J. Knapp / L. List / A. Schenk | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Adam Schenk | +140 |
Jake Knapp | +185 |
Luke List | +200 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – N. Hardy / J.J. Spaun / B. Snedeker | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
J J Spaun | +135 |
Nick Hardy | +135 |
Brandt Snedeker | +290 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – S. Jaeger / N. Dunlap / B. Hun An | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Byeong Hun An | +145 |
Stephan Jaeger | +155 |
Nick Dunlap | +250 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – D. Riley / C. Ramey / Z. Johnson | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Davis Riley | +155 |
Chad Ramey | +165 |
Zach Johnson | +210 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – S.W. Kim / K.H. Lee / A. Scott | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Si Woo Kim | +140 |
Adam Scott | +190 |
K H Lee | +200 |
Insperity Invitational | |
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN | |
Steven Alker | +450 |
Padraig Harrington | +600 |
Stephen Ames | +1200 |
Jerry Kelly | +1400 |
Miguel Angel Jimenez | +1400 |
David Toms | +1600 |
Ernie Els | +1600 |
Alex Cejka | +2000 |
Retief Goosen | +2000 |
KJ Choi | +2200 |
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1st Round 3-Balls – J. Leonard / S. Ames / P. Harrington | |
Type: 1st Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Padraig Harrington | +105 |
Stephen Ames | +170 |
Justin Leonard | +330 |
1st Round 3-Balls – S. Alker / R. Goosen / E. Els | |
Type: 1st Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Steven Alker | -105 |
Ernie Els | +230 |
Retief Goosen | +260 |
1st Round 3-Balls – M.A. Jimenez / J. Kelly / P. Broadhurst | |
Type: 1st Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Jerry Kelly | +160 |
Miguel Angel Jimenez | +160 |
Paul Broadhurst | +220 |
1st Round 3-Balls – V. Singh / K.J. Choi / D. Toms | |
Type: 1st Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
David Toms | +130 |
K.J. Choi | +170 |
Vijay Singh | +250 |
1st Round 3-Balls – C. Montgomerie / A. Cejka / D. Clarke | |
Type: 1st Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Alex Cejka | +120 |
Darren Clarke | +170 |
Colin Montgomerie | +280 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – M. Kim / A. Noren / J. Lower | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Alex Noren | +100 |
Justin Lower | +185 |
Michael Kim | +300 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – K. Chappell / T. Pendrith / K. Yu | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Taylor Pendrith | +120 |
Kevin Yu | +160 |
Kevin Chappell | +300 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – C.T. Pan / M. Trainer / G. Sigg | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Greyson Sigg | +130 |
C T Pan | +140 |
Martin Trainer | +320 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – R. Palmer / P. Kizzire / B. Taylor | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Ryan Palmer | +120 |
Patton Kizzire | +145 |
Ben Taylor | +330 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – B. Garnett / T. Hoge / D. Berger | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Tom Hoge | +110 |
Daniel Berger | +175 |
Brice Garnett | +300 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – M. Wallace / K. Kisner / C. Champ | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Matt Wallace | +115 |
Cameron Champ | +135 |
Kevin Kisner | +400 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – C. Villegas / T. Kim / M. Hughes | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Tom Kim | -105 |
Mackenzie Hughes | +140 |
Camilo Villegas | +500 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – V. Norrman / S. Cink / M. Kuchar | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Matt Kuchar | +150 |
Vincent Norrman | +165 |
Stewart Cink | +220 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – N. Echavarria / C. Reavie / K. Mitchell | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Keith Mitchell | -105 |
Nico Echavarria | +200 |
Chez Reavie | +300 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – M. Hubbard / M. NeSmith / D. Ghim | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Doug Ghim | +145 |
Mark Hubbard | +165 |
Matt NeSmith | +225 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – N. Lashley / A. Baddeley / M. Schmid | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Nate Lashley | +135 |
Matti Schmid | +160 |
Aaron Baddeley | +250 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – J. Hahn / Z. Blair / T. Montgomery | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Taylor Montgomery | +150 |
Zac Blair | +175 |
James Hahn | +200 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – K. Streelman / B. Wu / R. Shelton | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Brandon Wu | +160 |
Robby Shelton | +160 |
Kevin Streelman | +210 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – M. McNealy / J. Bramlett / B. Kohles | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Maverick McNealy | +135 |
Joseph Bramlett | +175 |
Ben Kohles | +225 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – B. Martin / C. Hadley / C. Tarren | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Chesson Hadley | +150 |
Ben Martin | +165 |
Callum Tarren | +215 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – R. MacIntyre / T. Crowe / P. Fishburn | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Robert MacIntyre | +130 |
Patrick Fishburn | +190 |
Trace Crowe | +220 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – Z. Dou / C. Gotterup / R. Pereda | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Chris Gotterup | +120 |
Zecheng Dou | +160 |
Raul Pereda | +275 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – J. Bridgeman / B. Hale / M. McGreevy | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Jacob Bridgeman | +105 |
Max McGreevy | +145 |
Blaine Hale Jr | +400 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – J. Stanger / M. Meissner / R. McCormick | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Jimmy Stanger | +150 |
Mac Meissner | +160 |
Ryan McCormick | +225 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – T. Olesen / W. Furr / P. Kuest | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Thorbjorn Olesen | +140 |
Peter Kuest | +160 |
Wilson Furr | +240 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – A. Smotherman / S. Valimaki / B. Hopfinger | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Sami Valimaki | +145 |
Austin Smotherman | +160 |
Brad Hopfinger | +225 |
Scottie Scheffler Specials | |
Type: Scottie Scheffler Specials – Status: OPEN | |
Win Any Remaining Signature Event | -200 |
PGA Championship (Top 10 Finish) & US Open (Top 10 Finish) | +115 |
PGA Championship (Top 10 Finish) & The Open (Top 10 Finish) | +125 |
US Open (Top 10 Finish) & The Open (Top 10 Finish) | +135 |
All Remaining Signature Events – Top 10 Finish | +200 |
PGA Championship (Top 5 Finish) & The Open (Top 5 Finish) | +200 |
US Open (Top 5 Finish) & The Open (Top 5 Finish) | +210 |
PGA Championship (Top 10 Finish) & US Open (Top 10 Finish) & The Open (Top 10 Finish) | +240 |
PGA Championship (Top 5 Finish) & US Open (Top 5 Finish) | +280 |
Win 2 Remaining Signature Events | +450 |
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PGA Championship 2024 | |
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN | |
Scottie Scheffler | +350 |
Jon Rahm | +1200 |
Rory McIlroy | +1200 |
Ludvig Aberg | +1600 |
Brooks Koepka | +2000 |
Xander Schauffele | +2000 |
Bryson DeChambeau | +2500 |
Collin Morikawa | +2500 |
Max Homa | +2500 |
Patrick Cantlay | +2500 |
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Requests | |
Type: Requests – Status: OPEN | |
Rory McIlroy – RBC Canadian Open Winner | +1000 |
Miles Russell – Win a Major before 30th birthday | +3500 |
Scottie Scheffler & Nelly Korda – Win All Remaining 2024 Majors | +50000 |
US Open 2024 | |
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN | |
Scottie Scheffler | +350 |
Jon Rahm | +1200 |
Rory McIlroy | +1200 |
Ludvig Aberg | +1600 |
Collin Morikawa | +2000 |
Viktor Hovland | +2000 |
Brooks Koepka | +2500 |
Cameron Smith | +2500 |
Patrick Cantlay | +2500 |
Xander Schauffele | +2500 |
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The Open Championship 2024 | |
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN | |
Scottie Scheffler | +500 |
Jon Rahm | +1000 |
Rory McIlroy | +1000 |
Viktor Hovland | +1100 |
Brooks Koepka | +2000 |
Cameron Smith | +2000 |
Cameron Young | +2000 |
Collin Morikawa | +2000 |
Ludvig Aberg | +2000 |
Jordan Spieth | +2500 |
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Requests | |
Type: Requests – Status: OPEN | |
The Open Championship – Alex Noren – Top 20 Finish | +200 |
Solheim Cup 2024 | |
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN | |
USA | -140 |
Europe | +135 |
Tie | +1200 |
Ryder Cup 2025 | |
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN | |
USA | -135 |
Europe | +135 |
Tie | +1000 |