Phil Mickelson flirts with magical 59 in first start of season at the Desert Classic in Southern California Mickelson came clos to being just the 11th player to record a sub-60 round The five-times major champion needed birdies on his final two holes for a 59 But a par on 17 scuppered his chances even though he had a birdie on 18By Reuters Published: 00:50 GMT, 18 January 2019 | Updated: 00:50 GMT, 18 January 2019 Viewcomments Phil Mickelson came up just short of a magical 59 on Thursday after carding 10 birdies and an eagle for a 60 in his opening round of the year at the Desert Classic in Southern California. The five-times major champion needed birdies on his final two holes to become just the 11th player to record a sub-60 round on the PGA Tour but a par on 17 scuppered his chances. A birdie on 18 left him one stroke shy of the mark. Phil Mickelson came up just short of a magical 59 at the Desert Classic in Southern California The round of 12-under at the La Quinta Country Club still represents the 48-year-old American's lowest score in relation to par and gave him a four-stroke clubhouse lead. Mickelson's flawless round put him four shots ahead of Australian Curtis Luck, who finished on 8-under after a round of 64. American Adam Long was also on 8-under through 13 holes. Prior to the round Mickelson had said on Twitter he was excited to start the season but was 'a bit rusty.' The 48-year-old carded 10 birdies and an eagle for a 60 in his opening round of the year 'Sometimes you have those days where it all clicks,' he told Golf Channel. 'The bad shots I hit I was able to get away with and didn't have the big score. And I made a lot of birdies. 'It was a fun day but I certainly did not expect this to be the case.' Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility