1. PHIL'S FLOP: I'm not sure who wrote that Phil Mickelson had a chance to win his fourth green jacket, but … oh, wait that was me. With Tiger Woods lounging somewhere far from Augusta, Mickelson opened the Masters with a 4-over 76 and is eight strokes behind leader Bill Haas. He hung 7s on two potential birdie holes: the par-4 seventh (the dreaded three-putt) and the par-5 15th (his third shot went into water, then he two-putted). He has some work to do. Most expect the course to play harder in the second round, so that means Mickelson needs other players to blow up and fall to him.
2. (STILL) GREAT SCOTT: Something often happens to defending Masters champions the following year. It's like a rude market correction by the Augusta National ghosts. But Adam Scott bucked that trend with a first round of 3-under 69. He's the first defending champion to shoot in the 60s in opening round since 2001 (Vijay Singh, the 2000 winner, also shot a 69). Scott had five birdies, but took a tumble at Amen Corner when he hit his tee shot into Rae's Creek. But he's in contention to be the first back-to-back winner since Tiger Woods (2001-02).
3. CINK'S HALL PASS: Stewart Cink earned a five-year exemption for the Masters when he won the British Open in 2009, which means he will have to do something improbable to be back here next year. He played pretty well Thursday, shooting 1 over, but a double-bogey on 14 (when he hit his second shot into the woods) and a bogey on 18 (tee shot off a magnolia tree, missed 10-foot putt) may ultimately cost him. Cink hasn't won a Tour event since the British Open, and he's not going to win the Masters, but it would be nice to see the Sugarloaf resident at least make it to the weekend.
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