Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
Mickelson plays out of trouble on the 13th hole during the opening round at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club on January 30, 2020,  in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia.

By Kent Gray
After a topsy-turvy outward nine played in 37 strokes, Phil Mickelson’s Saudi International debut was teetering on the brink of no return at two-over-par on Thursday. In King Abdullah City fresh from a pair of missed cuts to open the new PGA Tour calendar year, the 49-year-old needed to conjure some old Lefty magic to ensure he didn’t have too far to climb to make the weekend at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, much less contend.

On cue, the world No.86 suddenly became the streaky version of “Phil being Phil” as he roared home in 29 strokes to sign for a four-under 66 and an overnight share of 8th place, just two strokes adrift of co-leaders Graeme McDowell and Gavin Green.

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Mickelson’s inward nine was paved in red with a cluster of three birdies from the 11th-13th and three more from 14th to 16th incredibly intersected by a bogey. But there was also a final gain on 18 as the 44-time PGA Tour winner and 2013 Open Championship hero played his way into contention.

“Yeah, it was a great back nine,” Mickelson said in the understatement of the $3.5 million European Tour event thus far.

“Part of the challenge for me is that I feel like I’ve been playing well but mentally I haven’t been as sharp. I haven’t been visualising and I haven’t been seeing the shot clear. It was certainly evident early in the round where I made a couple of shots that weren’t that hard that I made difficult.

“But the back nine, things really started to come together. Meaning I hit a lot of good shots. I started making the putts, and made a lot of birdies, and it was just a good back nine that gave me a good chance heading into tomorrow. I feel like my game is a lot sharper than I’ve been scoring, so it was nice having that back nine.”

There are few better than Mickelson when his putter warms up, as it proved late on Thursday.

“Hit a lot of good shots and made the putts. It’s not like the putts are easy. The greens are rolling beautifully but factoring the wind and the break and so forth, it wasn’t the easiest. It was a fun challenge, and just continued to kind of be patient.

“There was one on maybe 14 — 13, kind of up off the tier and fell in. That was really fun because I haven’t really made a good, long one like that, and I didn’t expect to make that one, and it just kind of circled in. That’s a cool feeling to see those go in.”

Mickelson enjoyed being pulled along by playing partner McDowell too.

“Certainly seeing how easy he made the course look, is encouraging, knowing that, yeah, you can do it. The way he was playing, so steady and solid, and even with one little hiccup, he still shot a round of 6-under par in tough conditions. It’s very impressive.

“The great thing about this golf course is that it’s playable in tough conditions. So if you hit good shots, you get rewarded. It’s not always beating you up, but you have to hit really good shots to have them pay off in these type of conditions. I think without the wind tomorrow, we’ll be able to be more aggressive in the morning and make some more birdies than we did today.

“It will play easier, but you still have to hit good shots and make putts to make birdies.”