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San Francisco (AFP) – Brandt Snedeker may not think much about Phil Mickelson's talented scoring talent, but he believes "Lefty" will be able to keep his position on the PGA Tour for a few more years.
Mickelson told Snedeker on the approach of the 2018 Safeway Open that he had little expectation for the opening tournament of the season because he was hitting the ball so badly – before he qualify for the first round 65.
Mickelson, 48, did the same with a superb 69 on Friday. He sits three times from Snedeker who leads halfway with a 131 below 131 after passing a 65-card in the second round.
"I sent him a text, I gave him a hard time because he said he was playing badly, then he went out and shot six birdies in a row," Snedeker said.
"I said:" Really, you are a great judge of talent. "
Mickelson was tied for second at under 10 with fellow Americans Michael Thompson (65) and Ryan Moore, who took his second consecutive victory at the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, California.
Mickelson admitted that he was tired this week. He entered the tournament after a disappointing appearance at the Ryder Cup, where he beat the score 0-2 as the Americans suffered a devastating defeat against the European team in France.
"It's a crazy game," he said. "My expectations were nil but I did a lot of good things, I'm surprised.
"Finally, some of my putts started to fall, and I'm doing too well not to putts."
This included a 39m (39m) putt of birdie in the seventh hole of normal three.
"He is confident of being where he is now," Snedeker said of the three-time Masters winner, Mickelson. "As the course becomes more difficult, he will play better."
Snedeker equalized eight birdies, including three in a row, starting with the fourth hole of normal four.
He finished 2017-18 with heightened confidence after shooting a 59 in August, en route to winning the Wyndham Championship for his ninth time on the US circuit.
Most of the big names in the game take their time after the rigors of the FedEx Cup playoffs and will not be back until January.
This opens the door to a collection of graduates from Web.com Tour to try to consolidate their status during the main tour.
Australian first-round leader Sepp Straka tied for 72 and was tied for fifth with Im Sung-Jae (69) and Kevin Tway (67).
Englishman Danny Willett, Scottish Russell Knox, American Scott Piercy and 2013 PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner missed their chance.
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