Mickelson shrugs off poor results

While the PGA Tour's West Coast swing has been a very happy hunting ground for "Lefty" in the past, he has struggled with poor showings in his opening two events this year (tying for 49th in the Humana Challenge and missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open last week).

Mickelson, who admitted he was left puzzled by his recent performances, remains positive about the state of his game and sees this week's Phoenix Open as the perfect opportunity to start afresh.

"I'm excited about this year and I'm ready to play," Mickelson said on Wednesday after his pro-am round. "I don't know what happened last week. I'm going to put it as something I'm going to shrug off because my practice sessions have been really good."

He certainly looked the part during the pro-am, shooting an unoffical seven-under 64.

A lot of good shots

"I was able to take it a little bit better to the course today," he said. "I hit a lot of good shots today, so bringing it from the practice session to the tournament, that's my challenge right now.

"My putting feels terrific and I felt it was the last physical part of my game that needed some work. Now I've just got to get it from the practice tee to the course."

Mickelson, who is set to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in May, is coming off a solid, if unspectacular 2011 season by his own lofty standards, and while some may think his best is behind him, he believes he is "quite a bit better" than he was two years ago - though he acknowledges "you haven't seen the scores yet."

The Arizona State graduate feels at home in Phoenix and describes the course as one where he has "good vibes". He knows he'll be the crowd favourite this week.

"I can't believe it's been 20 years since I've been out of college," he said. "The way people have treated us has been awesome. Playing the 16th hole and coming down the 18th fairway, the reception really means a lot to me."