CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Phil Mickelson, whose inability to focus for an entire round has become an admitted problem, said Quail Hollow Club forced him to stay focused following his first-round 64.

On Friday, he was 11 shots worse as his mind wandered.

The example Lefty gave of his mental lapses was his tee shot at the par-3 17^th hole that never had a chance of covering the water hazard and led to a double-bogey 5.

“We're standing over the ball and I'm changing my mind and I'm changing the shot, moving the clubhead a little bit and instead of backing away and kind of refocusing, I just kind of hit it and I'm not really kind of aware of what I'm doing,” said Mickelson, who went from overnight leader to tied for 11^th when he completed his round. “I've got to fix that and work on it.”

Another example of his lack of focus came on the par-5 15^th hole, where he pulled his second shot right of the green and struggled to a bogey. Mickelson said he’s trying to improve his focus through meditation and various drills but he continues to struggle.

“I threw two shots away on 15 and two on 17 and that ultimately are things I've been doing and I just can't keep doing that,” he said. “I'm optimistic for the weekend, though.”