Lefty's accuracy lacking

Phil Mickelson walked off the 18th hole at Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday and headed straight to the driving range.

He had just made his only bogey of the day, giving him a 2-under-par 70. The three-time and defending Masters Tournament champion finished his first round five shots off the lead.

Mickelson struggled to keep his ball in the fairway throughout the day, hitting just 4 of 14 -- the fewest out of the 99 players in the tournament.

"But I didn't cash in on some of the birdie tries I did have," he said.

Mickelson played the first seven holes at even par before getting up and down for a birdie on No. 8. He then missed the next three greens but chipped and putted for pars.

Mickelson made another par on the 13th hole, where he made a birdie during last year's final round after hitting a 6-iron from the trees onto the green. He drove the ball into the trees again on Thursday but could not make a go at the green.

Mickelson hit his tee shot into the trees on the next hole, but this time he had a path to the pin. He punched a shot from the left-side trees to within a few feet of the hole. He made birdie and tapped in another birdie on No. 15.

But Mickelson missed birdie putts on holes 16 and 17 and then missed the green and his par save on No. 18. Mickelson signed his scorecard and made a beeline to the driving range. He had only 40 minutes of daylight left to work on his game, and he wanted to make them count, he said in passing.

"I played OK, just OK," he said. "I didn't shoot myself out of (the tournament), but I didn't do enough."

Mickelson shot 67 in the opening round last year and trailed by just one stroke. He has come from five strokes behind after the first round to win the Masters before -- in 2004, he opened with a 72 but followed with three consecutive 69s to earn his first green jacket. Mickelson, who was in the next-to-last group on Thursday, will tee off at 10:30 a.m. today.

Reach Joe VanHoose at joe.vanhoose@onlineathens.com.