Mickelson not thinking about rankings rivalry

By Nick Mulvenney

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Rankings are the last thing on Phil Mickelson's mind at the HSBC Champions this week even though he could be overhauled as world number two by Spain's Sergio Garcia.

The 38-year-old American shot a six-under-par 66 for a share of second place with his Spanish rival and two others as he opened his title defense in rain and fog at the Sheshan International golf course Thursday.

Swede Henrik Stenson carded a seven-under-par 65 for a one-shot lead.

"I really don't think about the world rankings right now very much," said Mickelson.

"My thought throughout the year is more about trying to win major championships. It's more about trying to play well in FedExCup events there at the end of the year, and overall improvement. I don't even understand the way the points system is.

"So that's the last thing that I really think about, other than trying to improve my game and be the best that I can be and hopefully the best in the world, but I don't worry about the points system or the actual rankings themselves."

GREAT GOLF

Garcia will take the number two ranking if he wins the tournament, or if he places second and Mickelson finishes no better than fifth. If he finishes third with the American 16th or worse Garcia will also move up to the number two spot.

"Sergio has played some great golf this year," Mickelson added. "He played wonderful in the FedExCup series, and he is a tremendous talent. But I haven't thought about losing the ranking yet."

Garcia said it was very much his target to finish the year as the best active player in the world, but the fear of not accomplishing his goal was not going to affect his game.

"I think that we are both trying to play well here and do the right thing and have a good week and have a chance at winning," he said. "The rest comes with it, so you shouldn't worry about it."

The two Ryder Cup rivals are battling it out to be the best golfer in the world besides Tiger Woods, who still dominates the rankings despite having been out of action injured for half a year.

Mickelson said last week that he missed competing against his fellow American, a sentiment Garcia echoed Thursday.

"I think it's never nice to have the top player in your game out for so long," he said.

"We always enjoy competing against Tiger and we know how good he is and how he beats us, but at the same time, playing against him is always a great learning experience.