MICKELSON FEELS RIGHT AT HOME LEFTY WELCOMED IN RETURN TO NISSAN HARRINGTON IN LEAD.

Byline: JILL PAINTER

Staff Writer

PACIFIC PALISADES -- Phil Mickelson missed the Nissan Open the past five years, but he didn't miss a beat in his return.

Mickelson shot a 5-under 66 in Thursday's first round at Riviera Country Club and is tied for second with Briny Baird and Pat Perez. They're three shots behind leader Padraig Harrington, who made 10 birdies and shot an opening-round 63.

This isn't Mickelson's hometown tournament, it just seemed like it Thursday. Mickelson and playing partners Ernie Els and Vaughn Taylor had the biggest and best gallery, with the majority of fans pulling for Mickelson.

After Mickelson made a 29-foot putt to birdie the third hole, one fan yelled: "We missed you, Phil!"

That seemed to be the sentiment. And if Mickelson continues to play this well, he might have to make it a regular stop.

"I felt good," Mickelson said. "You know, I hit some good shots, and I was able to shoot a good round. But it's a little humbling to shoot what I thought was a good round and then get lapped by three(shots)."

It was even more humbling to know that Harrington had never played in the Nissan Open and only played the course once before this week. Harrington played Riviera with friends while he was in Los Angeles for the Target World Challenge in 2005.

"Obviously, someday it will catch up to me, the fact I don't know the golf course," Harrington said. "Today, it didn't. And whenever I did miss a shot, it seemed to be OK. There are a lot of pitfalls on this course that can catch you, but they didn't today."

Tiger Woods skipped the tournament this year, but eight of the top-10 ranked players in the world are in it and they're playing like the best. Four of those players -- Harrington, Mickelson, Jim Furyk, and Vijay Singh -- are in the top 10 on the leader board. Furyk shot a 4-under 67 and Singh a 68. Sergio Garcia and Kevin Stadler -- a USC product -- are tied with Furyk and others at 67.

Mickelson continued his success after winning last week's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. He was playing so well he decided last week to add Riviera to his schedule. So far, it looks like a good decision.

"I think the momentum may have carried me through, especially on the greens," Mickelson said. "I putted very well today, a lot of shorts putts, 5- to 6-footers. That was the biggest area, especially coming in."

The gallery's favorite Mickelson shot was a perfect flop on the sixthhole. Mickelson was on the right side of the bunker -- the one that's located in the middle of the green -- and his shot landed about a foot from the hole and rolled another five feet. The gallery roared, then he made the putt for good measure.

"I think the crowds were great, you know, playing with Phil, he's a native Californian boy, so there was a lot of support for him," Elssaid.

Mickelson is actually commuting via a leased jet from his home in Rancho Santa Fe. He said he left his house at 5:15 a.m. and was at Riviera by 6:15 a.m. He's doing all this travel so he can spend more time with his family. The idea seemed ludicrous at first, but it apparently suits Mickelson.

And as crazy as it seems, Harrington -- ranked 10th in the world -- birdied the first, second and third holes on the front nine, then birdied Nos. 10 through 13.

It will be interesting to see if he can maintain such a mastery of a course he is unfamiliar with.

"This has always been an event that you look at on television and say, 'It's Riviera Country Club, what more could you want than to come here and play?'" Harrington said. "It's certainly one of the best golf courses of the year. So, you do want to play it. Unfortunately, schedule-wise, it has prevented me from playing before. But, you know, if I keep up like this, my schedule will have to change every year."

Ditto for Mickelson.

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1) Leader Padraig Harrington lines up a putt on the 17th green during Thursday's first round at Riviera.

(2) Phil Mickelson, three shots off the lead and tied for second, sizes up his putt on the 10th hole.

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Box:

(1) NISSAN OPEN

(2) LEADER BOARD