Phil Mickelson didn't play a practice round ahead of the BMW Championship or in the Wednesday pro-am at Conway Farms.
Mickelson asked for special dispensation for the pro-am absence, citing personal reasons. After an opening 1-under 70 on Thursday, however, Mickelson declined to detail those reasons.
According to ESPN, reporters asked Mickelson if it was a family matter that kept him from arriving until Wednesday night. The Open champion tried to change the topic with his reply, "Everything is fine. I'm here now, I'm ready to play. But I just needed to be a little cautious this first round before I attack it tomorrow.''
Mickelson's late arrival meant he teed it up Thursday at a place he had never seen.
"Yeah, it wasn't the way I wanted to prepare for an event, having not seen a course,'' Mickelson said. "I wanted to get in here and play a practice round Tuesday and Wednesday, and obviously I wasn't able to do that."
Mickelson trailed Brandt Snedeker by seven shots after Round 1, leaving him projected to head to the Tour Championship in eighth place in the FedEx Cup standings. The top five players in points after this, the penultimate leg of the playoffs, can win the FedEx Cup outright with a win in the Tour Championship at East Lake.
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