Phil Mickelson fired an 8-under 63 in the first round of the Deutsche Bank Championship on Friday and holds a one-stroke lead over Kevin Stadler. As the round gets closer to completion, it’s looking increasingly likely that Mickelson will take the lead into the second round.
2013 Deutsche Bank Championship leaderboard: Phil Mickelson maintains lead; Kevin Stadler leaps to 2nd
Mickelson’s outstanding round looks like it will end up being the best of the day.
Jared Wickerham
Mickelson started on a record pace, recording a birdie on seven of his first nine holes. He cooled down the stretch, however, and ended his day on a sour note with a bogey on his final hole. Stadler finished strong to vault up the leaderboard late, birdying five of his final six holes.
Hunter Mahan has sole possession of third at 6-under, and there are 10 players at 5-under, including Jason Dufner and Lee Westwood.
Tiger Woods shot a 68 Friday, leaving him five strokes off Mickelson’s pace. Jim Furyk is in the clubhouse at 1-under, and Adam Scott followed up his win at The Barclays with a disappointing 2-over round.
Plenty of players are still out on the course, including Rory McIlroy, Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker and Justin Rose; they’ll all need strong finishes in order to challenge Mickelson at the top of the leaderboard.
| Player | Score | |
| 1 | Phil Mickelson | -8 |
| 2 | Kevin Stadler | -7 |
| 3 | Hunter Mahan | -6 |
| T4 | John Huh | -5 |
| T4 | Chris Kirk | -5 |
| T4 | Lee Westwood | -5 |
| T4 | Jason Dufner | -5 |
| T4 | Bob Estes | -5 |
| T4 | Stewart Cink | -5 |
| T4 | Harris English | -5 |
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