Mickelson's magic, Tiger's presence could make for interesting weekend at Doral

How many guys could hit it in the water twice and still shoot 65? Not many, but if you had to guess who, it would probably be Phil Mickelson.

How good is this guy’s short game? On one of the instances when he found the water during the opening round at the WGC CA Championship at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa, he made par. That came on the par-3 fourth when he chipped in after his drop.

Talk about limiting the damage. A hole earlier he made double bogey when he found the water. He was even par though 8.

After that Mickelson went on a tear. He shot 30 on the back nine and wound up in a tie with Jeev M. Singh, Retief Goosen and Prayad Marksaeng for the lead after the first round of this no-cut event.

As for Tiger Woods, he said he struck the ball well, just couldn’t get any putts to fall. At six shots back following a 71, you get the feeling those putts will fall soon; they always do. It would be surprising if Woods isn’t in contention for the weekend.

And the next Tiger Woods? That would be 19-year-old Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, according those who make such evaluations. McIlroy eagled the first hole en route to a 68. We can only hope Woods and McIlroy somehow wind up in the same group this weekend.