Q. Sum up the day real quickly.

PHIL MICKELSON: We I think got the good end of the tee times. We had some great conditions to play golf and make birdies. The course was soft and that helped us and without much wind, we were able to see a lot of scores under par. I thought I played very well. I struggled the last six or seven holes and started to turn it around. I think that I'm striking the ball well but I just need to make a few putts and if that happens, I think I'll have a good chance on the weekend.

Q. How much of an advantage do you think you have being in the wave that you were in?

PHIL MICKELSON: It's hard to put a number on it until the late tee times finish their second round. Probably something similar to the advantage in 2002.

Q. You said on Wednesday that possibly the crowd could be like a surrogate support system; did you feel that out there today?

PHIL MICKELSON: It was an amazing day, with the way the people treated everybody, but I certainly felt ‑‑ I certainly felt it. It was very cool.

Q. In 2002, where did you fall in terms of the draw?

PHIL MICKELSON: I wasn't on the good end. I was fighting, fighting late. I think it was late Friday. Early/late.

Q. Was this crowd all you expected, and then some?

PHIL MICKELSON: Tremendous. The people, I don't even know how to say it. The people here have treated me and Amy and my family so well, it's been amazing.

And I just love playing golf here. I love coming up to this area. I think all sports teams love playing in front of these people here. They are some of the best sports fans in the country.

Q. With all of the golf they played today, did they get more rowdy at the end than in 2002?

PHIL MICKELSON: I don't think so. I thought they were great the whole day.

Q. Did the course play better than expected?

PHIL MICKELSON: I thought the course played a little bit easier than we had anticipated in our practice rounds, because the balls were staying in the fairway. That was the big key. They were holding on the greens. That was another key. They didn't have the speed that they normally have. They didn't have the speed they had in 2002.

Q. Is it a break to get out in the morning before the weather is supposed to come?

PHIL MICKELSON: It's hard to say. I think the wind is going to be the biggest factor. If there's no wind we got a great break but if there is, it's going to be a difficult round for us.

Q. Did you have a chance to talk to Amy?

PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, I did.

Q. How do you feel right now?

PHIL MICKELSON: I'm okay. We've got to get up early and go back out, get ready to finish our second round, so it's not like ‑‑ we have a pretty quick turnover.

I don't feel tired. I mean, I want to play more golf, because we have great conditions to play. It's not going to get any better. It's not going to get any easier than it is right now for us. We wanted to play as many holes as we could.

Q. How much do you hear in the crowd when you are walking down the fairway or the tee box?

PHIL MICKELSON: It's hard to miss it. You know, it's not like they whisper it. (Laughter).

But it's very flattering and it's very cool.

Q. Is it tough to not play yesterday?

PHIL MICKELSON: No, I thought it was great, because we never had to come to the course. We knew we weren't going to play.

I saw a movie, it was the Taking of Pelham 123. I had already seen the Hangover, that was good. We went to Borders and picked up some books and DVDs and stuff. Oh, I went and worked out, too. Yeah, I don't want to leave that one out.

Q. Are you surprised to get this many in?

PHIL MICKELSON: I figured it would be around nine or ten. It ended up being about what we thought.

Q. You said on Wednesday that you were not certain what your mind‑set would be until you got out there, what was your mind‑set today?

PHIL MICKELSON: I started to hit some good shots. I thought I played pretty well. I didn't putt as well as I would have liked. I didn't think that even though the greens were soft and they were not as fast as normal, they were tough to make, because there were some little impressions and so forth, but still that's no excuse. They were rolling very good and I should have made some of the putts that I missed. Other than that I felt like I got into the round well and I felt like I was able to focus on the shot at hand and play well.

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