Phil Mickelson looked like the man to beat in the US Open with a flawless round of 4-under 66 at Shinnecock Hills that left the Masters champion tied with Shigeki Maruyama and in great position to capture the second leg of the Grand Slam.
"Phil the Thrill" appears to be a thing of the past. Mickelson kept his driver in the bag Friday, kept big numbers off his card and made every putt inside 8 feet -- the kind of golf that usually wins a US Open.
PHOTO: REUTERS
And if anyone thought he would be satisfied after finally slipping on a green jacket, forget it.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"I really haven't felt that sense of relief," said Mickelson, who ended an 0-for-42 drought at Augusta National. "What I have felt is a sense of excitement and anticipation. I can't wait for the upcoming majors now because I feel like I'm onto something to play well in the big tournaments."
Cheered on by a raucous crowd that loves Mickelson as much as he loves New York, he finished two trips around Shinnecock Hills at 6-under 134. Maruyama joined him late in the afternoon with a 2-under 68, letting a chance to lead a major by himself for the first time slip away when he drove into the rough on his final hole and made bogey.
They will be in the final pairing Saturday, and Maruyama knows who will get the loudest cheers.
"I will get ear plugs for tomorrow," he said.
Jeff Maggert had a 67 and was one shot behind, while former US Open champion Retief Goosen and Fred Funk each had a 66 and were at 4-under 136.
Shinnecock Hills was plenty tough but once again lacked the wind that usually terrorizes the world's best players. Still, it only accepts the best golf, which was evident on a leaderboard that featured all the top players.
Well, all but No. 1.
Ernie Els birdied four straight holes to jump into contention and finished with a 67, only three shots out of the lead at 137. Vijay Singh had a 70 and was another stroke behind.
As for Tiger Woods, he spent much of the round flirting with the cut line until a couple of big par saves, back-to-back birdies and an 8-foot par putt on the final hole gave him a 69. He was at 141, seven shots behind and still holding out hope.
"The great thing about it is the guys aren't going to run away and hide on this golf course," Woods said.
Maybe not, but catching Mickelson is no picnic.
Lefty spent three days at Shinnecock Hills last weekend, learning all the nuances on the links-styled course. He attributes his great play more to preparation than a burden being lifted from ending his major drought.
"I feel as though I'm not having any surprises," he said. "I know that if I hit it over here, I'm OK; if I hit it over here, I don't have a chance, and so forth. I think that has given me a lot of confidence playing the course."
Angel Cabrera had a 71 to join Els at 3-under 137, while '95 US Open champion Corey Pavin had a 71 and was in the group at 138 with Singh.
Jay Haas, the first-round co-leader trying at 50 to become the oldest winner of a major, made double bogey on the final hole for a 74 and slipped six shots behind.
Mickelson had to play three holes Friday morning to complete his first round, and he immediately got in trouble by going long on the par-3 seventh. His ball was buried in a thick mess of grass, and he faced a steep slope to a green that went down toward the bunkers.
He chopped it up the hill in a safe place, rolled his par putt some 8 feet by and holed that for a worthy bogey.
"It could have easily been worse, so I was very pleased to make bogey there," he said.
Mickelson followed with a 12-foot birdie and closed out his 68, and those pivotal putts carried him in the second round. During one stretch on the front nine, he made five consecutive putts between 5 and 10 feet. One was for birdie, the rest to save par.
His control off the tee was phenomenal, mostly with a 3-wood.
"Left chimney," caddie Jim MacKay told him on the ninth tee, picking out the target from the clubhouse high on the hill. Another perfect shot.
Through it all, the size of the gallery swelled, and they held nothing back.
"Win it for the New Yawkers," one man cried.
The back nine looked more like a Main Street parade, not a major championship. Mickelson looked both ways, grinning, smiling, feeling like he was the luckiest man alive. In between this celebration -- or was it a coronation? -- he even hit a few golf shots, and most of them were pure.
"That's the way we're all striving to play -- the way he's playing now," Kirk Triplett said. "There are a lot of hard shots out there, and he hit a lot of good ones."
Mickelson made them all look easy.
He opted for fairway metals off the tee and rarely left the middle of the fairway. A 6-iron into No. 12 hopped hard and trickled just inside the approach of Triplett, giving Mickelson a perfect read from about 18 feet. It was similar to his walk-off birdie at the Masters, when Chris DiMarco putted first on the same line.
"I call it being `DiMarcoed,' and it's a good thing," Mickelson said. The putt was good all the way, putting Mickelson alone in the lead at 5 under.
The par-5 16th -- a hole he played in 6 over to cost him the '95 Open -- was executed to perfection. He hit 3-wood off the tee, 4-iron into the bunker and blasted out to 3 feet for birdie.
David Duval's return to competitive golf after an eight-month layoff wasn't a success as far as scores went, but that didn't matter to the 2001 British Open champion, who said he played because it was the US Open.
"For what I was trying to accomplish I think I did that," Duval said after completing a second-round 82 that left him at 25-over 165, 155th in the field of 156.
Duval said he would play at the British Open next month.
"I'll be at Troon. I don't know if I'll play before then but I may," he said.
Duval said he hit more good shots than he expected and was disappointed when the second round came to an end.
SPENCER'S RIDE
He's a college student who just turned 20 this week, admits to anger management problems and smokes a pack of cigarettes a day.
On Thursday he made the only hole-in-one of this US Open. And, for a while Friday, Spencer Levin had another claim to fame -- he was on the US Open leaderboard.
With his father on his bag, Levin chainsmoked his way around Shinnecock Hills and up the leaderboard before a few stumbles at the end left him at 2-over 142.
Still, Levin is playing on the weekend, not bad for a former high school baseball player who won his California high school state golf championship while playing only once a week as a sophomore.
"I'm just trying to think of it as another tournament, even though it's the US Open," Levin said.
Levin's father, Dan, played in the 1983 Open, missing the cut. When his son decided to quit baseball and concentrate on golf, he was there to teach him. Levin plays for the University of New Mexico.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"I'm going to go talk a police officer into shooting me." -- Charles Howell III when asked what he would do during the afternoon while waiting to see if his 5-over 145 would make the cut. It did.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care