PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods had trouble keeping up with the Joneses – or at least Steve Jones’ 8-under 64 – halfway through the opening round of The Players Championship on Thursday.

Mickelson and Woods, who along with Vijay Singh and Ernie Els form the so-called Fab Four of the PGA Tour, finished with 70s, six shots behind a revived Jones at the Tournament Players Club’s Stadium Course.

Early on, Mickelson and Woods both looked ready to go very low in a field that included the world’s top 50 golfers. Woods had birdies on two of his opening three holes while Mickelson was 4 under through six holes. But things got away from each of them after that.

Mickelson took a double-bogey 5 on the par-3 eighth hole, then had three bogeys on his final four holes.

“Because I has so many chances to turn this into a great round and I didn’t, that’s what’s disappointing,” Mickelson said.

Mickelson hadn’t played since his riveting final-round duel with Woods at Doral three weeks ago, and the rust showed. He missed a 6-footer for par on the island green at No. 7, then dumped a 4-wood into the water on the final hole for another bogey.

Woods also had trouble following his quick start. He said he missed several putts of 10 feet or less.

“That’s something you can’t afford to do,” he said.

Part of the problem for Woods was fairways made moist by rain earlier this week. It was difficult, he said, to be accurate with mud on your ball.

“It’s just not what we’re used to seeing on this golf course,” he said.

Nothing seemed to bother Jones, the 1996 U.S. Open champion. He moved to the top with a stretch of seven birdies over eight holes to take the lead. He finished with a flourish, rolling in a 10-footer for birdie on his last hole, the ninth, for a 64, his best score in 17 rounds this year.

Jones said he talked with Champions Tour star Hale Irwin about how to kick-start his comeback. Irwin asked the 46-year-old Jones if he even wanted to play well on tour anymore.

“And I said, Yeah, I do,”‘ Jones said. “That’s what I tried to focus on, the things he told me.”

Several top players, including Singh, Els and Retief Goosen, were on the course this afternoon. And this week, Goosen wants to show he belongs with the Fab Four.

Goosen was the only player who stayed with Mickelson at the U.S. Open last June, overcoming the fan favorite to win his second major. Then in November, Goosen chased down Woods to take the Tour Championship, becoming only the third golfer to knock Woods out of a 54-hole lead.

Goosen’s only problem? He seems, well, dull. There’s rarely a grimace or any show of emotion.

“I’m quite happy to go home and relax and not come into the media (tent),” Goosen said.

Darren Clarke says Goosen might be overlooked by the media and the public, but not by his fellow players.

“He’s won two U.S. Opens,” Clarke said. “You’ve got to play some to win a couple of those.”

Goosen knew that to advance he’d have to calm himself.

“I had to pay for all those broken shafts and it was getting a bit expensive,” he said.

Goosen had worked with swing coach Sam Frost but became so frustrated at hitting the ball well and not winning, he gave up coaches. He linked up with Belgian psychologist Jos Vanstiphout in 1999, and things began to click.

Two years later, as a PGA Tour rookie, the South African won $1.1 million and his first U.S. Open title in an 18-hole playoff with Mark Brooks. Goosen reached the top 10 on the money list a year later.

His most successful season was last year, when he won the U.S. Open and the Tour Championship, and finished sixth on the money list with more than $3.8 million.

“I think once I got out on tour here, I knew I could play the game,” he said.

He has shown it ever since.

Goosen has missed the cut in five of his six appearances at this event. But he had three straight top-10 finishes this season and feels ready to challenge for The Players Championship.

“I need to win a few more tournaments and a few big ones, I think, to really put my name up there,” he said.

AP-ES-03-24-05 1419EST