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PGA notes: Mickelson in striking distance at 71

SPRINGFIELD, N.J. - After playing two rounds at the British Open without a bogey, Phil Mickelson came to a venue where he had previously won a major and proceeded to sputter to four bogeys in his first 11 holes during the opening round of the PGA Championship.

SPRINGFIELD, N.J. - After playing two rounds at the British Open without a bogey, Phil Mickelson came to a venue where he had previously won a major and proceeded to sputter to four bogeys in his first 11 holes during the opening round of the PGA Championship.

But the 46-year-old lefthander held steady, birdied three of his final seven holes, and finished with a respectable 71 to stay within sight of first-round leader Jimmy Walker at Baltusrol Golf Club.

"It's not the start I wanted," said Mickelson, who shot rounds of 63 and 65 two weeks ago at the British Open at Royal Troon. "It's not indicative of how I'm playing, But I'm back to where if I play [on Friday] the way I've been playing, I should be OK."

Mickelson, who left Baltusrol with the Wanamaker Trophy after winning the 2005 PGA here, kick-started his comeback with an 18-foot birdie putt on the tough par-4 third hole, his 12th of the round, and added birdies at Nos. 6 and 7. He said the crowd was a big factor in his rally.

"I was 4-over through 11, and I'm hard on myself. I'm down," he said. "The people helped to really kind of pick me back up. I remember walking off No. 3 and a guy said, 'Hey, you've got a lot of golf left. You're not out of this. Let's get going.' He's right."

Those putting blues

Rory McIlroy, who played with Mickelson and defending champion Jason Day in the featured grouping of the morning wave, went his entire round without being able to figure out the greens, going 18 holes without a birdie while posting a 74.

While saying he was happy with his play from tee to green, McIlroy needed 35 putts and noted that he struggled with the pace of the putting surfaces.

"There were a couple of putts from quite a short distance that I left short," the two-time PGA champion said. "That's the thing that sort of surprised me all week, actually. They look much quicker than they are. I just need to be a little bit more aggressive, a little bit more free-flowing with my stroke."

The major guys

As is its custom, the PGA grouped the winner of the season's first three majors together. British Open champion Henrik Stenson posted the best score with a 67, and Masters winner Danny Willett had a 71.

But U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson made his first of two double bogeys at the third hole and could not bring himself back. In a round of just one birdie, he finished with a 77, a score that beat only five players in the field of 156.

"He just didn't have a good day out there," Stenson said. "We all know what he's capable of doing with a golf ball on a golf course. I'm sure he'll bounce back."