Two players with notable ties to Fort Worth, J.J. Henry and Phil Mickelson, will make their 2009 PGA Tour season debuts at this week's FBR Open in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Henry, a Fort Worth resident and former TCU golfer, finished 111th on last season's PGA Tour money list, with $931,162. He posted two top-10 finishes in 2008, with a season scoring average of 71.07. Henry, 32, fired his career-best round as a PGA Tour competitor at the FBR Open in 2006, when he shot a second-round 61. He cracked the top-10 at that event, helping jump-start a career-best 2006 season in which Henry won the Buick Championship, cracked the $2.3 million mark in earnings and played on the 2006 U.S. Ryder Cup team.
Mickelson, the No. 3 player in the world golf rankings, is the reigning Colonial champion and a two-time winner of Fort Worth's annual PGA Tour stop (2008, 2000). Mickelson, 38, has won 34 tour events. Included are four triumphs in Lefty's season opener.
Below is a breakdown of Mickelson's season-opening performances as a professional on the PGA Tour:
Year Event Finish
1992 Mercedes-Benz Championship T30
1993 Tucson Open T8
1994 Mercedes-Benz Championship 1
1995 Mercedes-Benz Championship 19
1996 Mercedes-Benz Championship 28
1997 Mercedes-Benz Championship T11
1998 Mercedes-Benz Championship 1
1999 Mercedes-Benz Championship T22
2000 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic T16
2001 Mercedes-Benz Championship T28
2002 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic 1
2003 FBR Open T9
2004 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic 1
2005 Buick Invitational T56
2006 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic T5
2007 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic T45
2008 Buick Invitational T6
Totals: 17 Starts, 17 Cuts Made. 8 Top-10 Finishes, 4 Wins
_ Jimmy Burch
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