Mickelson: Almost unplayable rough at Ryder Cup gave Euros advantage

Phil Mickelson made it clear that he wasn't a fan of Le Golf National - the host venue for the 2018 Ryder Cup - not only with his play at the event, but with comments made after his first round at the Safeway Open on Thursday.

"The Europeans did a great thing, they did the opposite of what we do when we have the Ryder Cup here," Mickelson said after his round at the Safeway Open. "The fairways were 14 to 16 yards wide. The fact is they had brutal rough, almost unplayable, and it's not the way I play. I don't play like that. And here I can miss some fairways, I can get shots out of the rough up on the green and it's playable."

Mickelson shot 65 in Round 1 at the season's first event just days after playing terribly at the Ryder Cup, where he went 0-2 and was benched on the second day of match play.

"I'm 48. I'm not going to play tournaments with rough like that anymore, it's a waste of my time," Mickelson added. "I'm going to play courses that are playable and that I can play aggressive, attacking, make a lot of birdies, style of golf I like to play."

He suggested that the greatest ball-striker of all time, Ben Hogan, would have struggled to find fairways at Le Golf National.

When it comes to the American's morale and turmoil that has ensued since the conclusion of the Ryder Cup, Mickelson said everything was amazing inside the team room.

"We had one of the best weeks as far as teammates, as far as working together, camaraderie. We had an awesome week. I actually - I don't know what to say because I didn't see any of that stuff happen. I only saw one of the best weeks and team unities that we've had in a long time."