SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. The home field hasn't been that kind to Phil Mickelson.

The 28-year-old left-hander, who lives a few miles north of the TPC of Scottsdale course, won the Phoenix Open in 1996. But his other attempts in Phoenix have been frustrating -- his best other than that was a tie for seventh in 1997.

Mickelson tied for 58th last year, shooting a 3-over-par 75 on the final day. It was a low point in an otherwise strong year.

Mickelson has the tour's longest current streak of consecutive years with a victory at six, thanks to two wins last winter during the so-called West Coast Swing, an eight-week stretch that begins the season each year.

By the fall, the game wasn't as much fun.

Mickelson played only one U.S. tournament after September, participated in his third President's Cup and set off to defend his Mercedes Championships crown three weeks ago in Hawaii with hardly any practice. He finished in a tie for 22nd while David Duval began his remarkable January with a nine-shot victory.

Mickelson is refreshed now, and he thinks his instincts survived the long hiatus from competition.

"I find that my desire for the game comes back, and I find that I'm practicing now 8, 10, 12 hours a day, whereas before I wasn't as diligent," he said.

He will need to call on all his resources beginning today as the 72-hole Phoenix Open gets underway. Tiger Woods and Duval, ranked first and second in the world, respectively, are part of the field, along with recent Phoenix champions like Steve Jones (1997), Vijay Singh (1995) and two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen (1993), who seem more than capable of winning for a second time.

Jones, who won the U.S. Open in 1996, took this event with a 26-under 258 to tie the second-lowest, 72-hole score in PGA Tour history.

But Duval overshadows everyone with his recent success -- nine victories in his last 28 tournaments in a string that began with his last three in a row in 1997 and his first two this season.

Duval shot a scorching 59 to close the Bob Hope last week -- a score achieved by only two other players in the history of the PGA Tour. He has earned $1,008,000 this year while shooting the lowest 1999 scores for 9, 18, 36, 54, 72 and 90 holes.

"He's got all the length, accuracy, irons play, driver," Paul Stankowski said. "He has an unbelievable short game, and he's a good putter. And now he's got the confidence. He doesn't think anybody can beat him."

Mickelson thinks Woods and Duval have set a standard for everyone else.

"If we're going to have to compete with that, we're going to have to find a way to shoot lower scores," Mickelson said. "How do you do that? There's ways besides just ball-striking that you have to look at. One of them is conditioning. One would be mentally -- how you approach a course."