PHOENIX – Phil Mickelson shot a 6-under 65 and season points leader Bernhard Langer battled through a balky back for a 68 in the opening round of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship on Thursday.
Mickelson had seven birdies and a bogey to match Jim Furyk and Kirk Triplett for the lead in the PGA Tour Champions season finale at Phoenix Country Club.
Langer arrived in the desert as the prohibitive favorite to win his sixth Schwab Cup, joining Furyk, Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez as the only players with a chance to win the season championship.