Phil Mickelson returned to golf with a four-under-par 67 in Illinois today, and three weeks after losing the US Open with a closing double bogey this time he finished with an eagle.
Mickelson hit a spectacular 275-yard approach to five feet on Cog Hill's 600-yard ninth and made the putt to be just one behind early leaders Joe Ogilvie and Lucas Glover in the Cialis Western Open.
Tiger Woods, playing for the first time since he missed the halfway cut in the second major of the season, was among the late starters, but he and playing partner Luke Donald were going to struggle to match the thrills and spills of Mickelson's round.
The world number two set off on the back nine with two bogeys, birdied two of the next four and then had a hat-trick of birdies from the third. Another bogey did come on the short sixth, but the eagle more than made up for that.
Swede Carl Pettersson, ninth on the European Ryder Cup world points list from which the first five members of Ian Woosnam's side for September will come, stood joint fifth on three under with one to go, but in contrast to Mickelson ran up a bogey six.
His 69 left him in a tie for 13th as the second half of the field started to tee off.
Justin Rose returned a level-par 71, while defending champion Jim Furyk was two under with one to play.
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