CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Phil Mickelson faded after a fast start. Robert Streb didn’t.
Streb opened with a 7-under 65 on Thursday for the early lead at the Wells Fargo Championship. After tying for 30th at The Players Championship last week, Streb played a bogey-free round on a cool morning to build a two-shot lead over Webb Simpson.
Top-ranked Rory McIlroy teed off as Streb was finishing his round and was 2-under par through eight holes. Patrick Reed and Stewart Cink were both 4 under at the turn.
K.J. Choi rallied for a 68 in the morning while defending champion J.B. Holmes and Hideki Matsuyama were among those at 69.
Mickelson birdied his first three holes but couldn’t maintain the momentum and finished with a 71. He dunked his tee shot in the creek along the left side 18th fairway leading to a double bogey.
Mickelson has long expressed his affinity for this course, saying it is suits his game perfectly. Yet he’s never won on it in 11 tries, although he’s come close with five top-5 finishes.
He got things off to a rousing start, sinking birdie putts from 6, 9 and 12 feet to start the back nine, drawing roars from a crowd. He’s aiming to join a list of former tournament winners that reads like a who’s who of golf - McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler, Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh.
But the putts wouldn’t fall for Mickelson after his initial burst.
“I turned a 66 into a 71 today,” he said.
Mickelson, who failed to make the cut at The Players Championship, insists his game “isn’t that far off.”
“Fortunately I didn’t shoot myself out of the tournament,” he said.
Streb set the early pace with two quick birdies on the back nine.
His 65 was the second-best opening round score of his brief PGA Tour career. He said he finally found his putting stroke last week at TPC Sawgrass and it was right there again at Quail Hollow.
“It’s the first time in a while I felt like I had putter working pretty solid,” Streb said.
It didn’t hurt that he caught a few breaks.
On the par-5 seventh hole, Streb hit a pitch shot from 10 feet off the green too hard, but the ball hit midway up the flagstick and dropped 4 feet from the hole, leading to an easy birdie.
“I smashed the flag,” Streb said.
Holmes put himself in position to become the first repeat winner in the tournament’s 13-year history. He finished 14-under in 2014, beating Furyk by one stroke.
He looked comfortable again Thursday with only one bogey.
“I’m feeling really good about my game,” said Holmes, ranked 13th in the world.
Many of the top players skipped the tournament, including Fowler, Woods, Jordan Spieth and Bubba Watson.
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