Tiger Woods shoots 65 to take early lead at Quail Hollow

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Masters is over. The Tiger & Phil Show might just be getting started.

Tiger Woods matched the course record with a 30 on the front nine, where he closed with three birdies Thursday morning to finish off a seven-under-par 65 at the Quail Hollow Championship. Phil Mickelson followed in the afternoon by chipping in for eagle and making a remarkable par save from under a video board for a five-under 67 that put him in a tie for second.

They did not play together, as was the case in an electric final-round pairing at Augusta National. But on a warm and breezy afternoon in North Carolina, it seemed as though they were never far apart.

“It’s only one round,” Mickelson said. “There’s a lot of golf left.”

Even so, Quail Hollow served up quite an appetizer on a course that even was reminiscent of Augusta with virtually no rough and slick greens.

Woods was plodding along the back nine, failing to birdie either of the par fives, until he ran off six birdies and two splendid par saves on the front nine.

“I hit a couple of loose shots here and there, but I really putted well,” Woods said. “I had a couple of key saves -- made a nice little up-and-down at 2 and just a really good save at 4 that kept the round going. It’s always nice when you birdie the last three.”

For Mickelson, it was sweet to finish with a par.

From a fairway bunker on the par-four 18th, he wanted to lay up short of the green but pulled his shot while trying to avoid a creek that runs down the left side. The ball went under a large video board, and Mickelson took his free drop on a slope of grass above the cart path.

Then came a wedge that spun just enough to stop two feet away.

“It’s nice to finish with a par,” he said. “I ended up playing a good round.”

Steve Marino, who gave himself a chance at winning last week in New Orleans, Robert Allenby and Jason Dufner also opened with a 67. The group another shot back included two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen and Hunter Mahan.

Masters champion Angel Cabrera opened with a 70, along with defending champion Anthony Kim.