ESTABLISHMENT
AGE: 40
YEARS ON TOUR: This is Mickelson’s 20th season on the PGA TOUR. During that span he has won 38 times, including three Masters and one PGA Championship, to put him on the fast track to the World Golf Hall of Fame.
OVERVIEW: Mickelson has always been a fast starter who prospers on the West Coast. He finished second in his 2011 debut at the Farmers Insurance Open, but Mickelson’s next five starts have been a mixed bag. He did manage one other top-10 at Pebble Beach but he’s had more rounds in the 70s (10) than in the 60s (5) during that stretch. His lowest finish came in his last start, a tie for 55th at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship—which prompted him to add the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard to his schedule. He’s also expected to play at the Shell Houston Open as he readies for his Masters defense in two weeks.
HISTORY IN THIS EVENT: Mickelson, who is making his 12th start at Bay Hill this week, is a former champ, beating Stuart Appleby by three in 1997. He also finished second in 2001, a stroke behind Tiger Woods, and tied for third the following year, again trailing the player who was then the world No. 1. But since that third-place finish, Mickelson hasn’t finished higher than a tie for 21st.
OUTLOOK THIS WEEK: Mickelson knows he can go low at Bay Hill after shooting a combined 38 under in his trio of top-three finishes. He shot 2 over in his last appearance, though, so finding some positive vibes early will be key. But while his driving has been erratic, Mickelson has been making lots of birdies this year—he ranks sixth on TOUR in that category.
Click here for a 2011 preview of Mickelson
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NEW BREED
AGE: 31
YEARS ON TOUR: This is McDowell’s third season on the PGA TOUR. He first joined in 2006 but lost his card after finishing 169th on the money list. The Northern Irishman re-joined last season after winning the U.S. Open—his first PGA TOUR victory after capturing six international titles. Two of those on the other side of the pond came in last year’s career-defining season that also included scoring the winning point in singles for the European Ryder Cup team.
OVERVIEW: McDowell has risen to No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and he’s playing like he wants to go even higher. He ended 2010 with a win over Tiger Woods at December’s Chevron World Challenge, then opened this year’s European Tour campaign with a third-place finish in Abu Dhabi and duplicated that standing in his PGA TOUR debut at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, where he closed with a 62. McDowell then reached the third round of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship before tying for sixth at The Honda Classic on the strength of a fourth-round 64.
HISTORY IN THIS EVENT: McDowell, who played collegiately at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, is making his fourth start at Bay Hill. His best finish came in 2005 when he tied for second, two strokes behind Kenny Perry. He didn’t play again until 2009 when he tied for 40th and missed the cut last year.
OUTLOOK THIS WEEK: McDowell tied for 42nd at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship in his last TOUR start—although he did play on the winning Lake Nona team in the Tavistock Cup during the off week. Interestingly, he has only shot one round in the 60s in his last eight so, like Mickelson, he needs to get back on track.
Click here for a 2011 preview of McDowell
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