May11 Mickelson players

Of all the things he could have said about Butch Harmon, his new swing coach, Phil Mickelson chose to tell a story about stories.

He could have talked about changes in mechanics, ball striking, the mental game — boring stuff. Instead, Mickelson, who had just shot a 5-under-par 67 in the opening round of The Players on Thursday, focused on the more lighthearted side of his relationship with Harmon.

“I have been entertained quite a bit by some great stories,” Mickelson said. “He’s a great storyteller – that’s probably the biggest thing. There’s always a point to his stories, you know, whether they’re about his dad or other players, they always have a point.”

Mickelson said he couldn’t share some of his favorites, but whatever the messages, they’re working. As is, it seems, everything else that Harmon has taught his new pupil. Since announcing before the Byron Nelson Championship almost a month ago that he’d be seeking help from Harmon to solve his perpetual driving problems, Mickelson has played some of his best golf of the season.

He finished tied for third at both the Bryon Nelson and the Wachovia Championship, and he’s on track to be in contention again, this time at The Players, where Mickelson and Rory Sabbatini are tied for the lead after a windy day one on the renovated Stadium Course.

“I felt very good today,” said Mickelson, who began his round with back-to-back birdies. “I hit a lot of good shots in some strong winds and was able to keep the ball in control.”

That was no easy feat on this day, what with the wind howling from sunrise to sunset and gusting at times upward of 39 mph. Add in all the changes around herethe slight lengthening of the course, the rebuilt fairways and greens, the switch from rye grass to Bermuda, the trimmed rough around the greens — and it was a course that played completely different than in past years.

For a few, like Mickelson, the new setup resulted in success. Many more, like Tiger Woods, walked off TPC Sawgrass flustered. Woods was even par after nine holes but bogeyed three of his last six to finish with a 3-over-par 75. He didn’t break par on a single hole for the first time since the opening round of the 2003 Masters.

“[The] greens are a little bit tricky to read — a different grain than out there than we’re used to,” said Woods, who three-putted on three occasions. “And I had a tougher time than the guys at the top of the board.”

Guys like Sabbatini, for one. Teeing off on the back nine, he birdied six of his first 15 holes and might have ended the first round with sole possession of first place had it not been for a late bogey on the par-4 No. 7.

Sabbatini has a reputation on the PGA Tour for speaking his mind, which has caused some to accuse him of cockiness. He had good reason to feel happy about things Thursday, but he acknowledged after his round that he feels a bit overlooked on tour, especially in comparison to South African countrymen Retief Goosen and Ernie Els.

“I figure I win this and another three majors and people will start paying attention,” said Sabbatini, who owns three tour victories, the most recent at the 2006 Nissan Open.

A victory here, of course, won’t be as easy as Sabbatini makes it sound. If the wind continues to blow as hard it did during the first round, and if the sun shines and the temperature rises, the course will only become firmer, faster and more difficult.