Mickelson in front

Phil Mickelson clicked straight back into top gear when the Players Championship – golf’s richest event and unofficial fifth major – began at Sawgrass in Florida today.

Four birdies in six holes on his return from a skiing holiday and two-week break gave the left-hander an early one-stroke lead over England’s Luke Donald, Swede Fredrik Jacobson and American Brett Quigley.

One further back was a group which included Nick Faldo, Ian Poulter and Tiger Woods.

Amazingly, Mickelson – who defends his Masters title in a fortnight – did not have to sink a putt longer than a yard in his flying start.

He hit a 97-yard pitch to within three feet at the first, to only 18 inches from the hole with his 103-yard approach on the long second and then from 173 yards and 138 yards at the fifth and sixth to leave him a pair of two-footers.

It certainly threw down the gauntlet in the battle of the “Fab Four” of himself, Woods, Vijay Singh and Ernie Els.

World number one Singh and Els were among the later starters, but Woods kicked off his search for a third victory this season by rolling in a 25-foot birdie putt on the 535-yard 11th, his second, and then after missing a seven-footer at the next struck his tee shot to four feet on the short 13th.

Donald, who has missed the half-way cut in his two previous appearances, was in the first group out at 7am and had four birdies and a bogey in his first 11 holes.

He pitched to within a foot of the cup at the 12th, gave the stroke back two holes later, but then found the target from 15 and 14 feet at the 16th and first and chipped to two feet on the next.

Jacobson lost out to Donald for the second wild card in Europe’s Ryder Cup team last September and moved confidently to three under after 10 holes.

Faldo, in the 146-strong field thanks to a 10-year exemption from the 1996 Masters, opened with a bogey, but birdied three of the next four. Poulter, meanwhile, birdied the 11th and 13th.

Padraig Harrington, runner-up for the last two years but competing reluctantly this time with his father battling cancer at home, was one under after five.

Mickelson's silky smooth progress ended at the short eighth. A bad push left into the trees led to a double bogey five and Donald seized the chance to go into sole possession of top spot.

His fourth birdie in seven holes came with a pitch to six feet on the fourth.

Faldo and Harrington were hot on his heels, though, Faldo rolling in a 33-footer at the fifth and the Dubliner adding birdies at the 15th and 16th.

Jacobson was three under as well, but while Woods remained two under at the turn Poulter bogeyed the 15th to be one under.

Harrington's 12-footer at the island green 17th, scene of so much drama over the years, made him joint leader with Donald and Quigley, but only briefly as they both birdied the 393-yard sixth, Quigley from off the green and Donald with a six-foot putt.

Faldo, however, three-putted the eighth and like Mickelson, Woods and Poulter, who birdied the 16th, was three behind.