Print

Mail

wiki links

Mickelson shares lead with Ferrie as Montgomerie falls

On another tough day at Winged Foot, Phil Mickelson was flawless on the back nine and surged into a share of the lead at the US Open with a 1-under 69 Saturday.

All that stands in his way of a third straight major -- something only Tiger Woods has done in the last 50 years -- is 18 holes and an unheralded Englishman playing in his first US Open. Kenneth Ferrie held on as long as he could until badly missing a 6-foot par putt on the final hole to join Mickelson at 2-over 212.

It was the highest 54-hole lead at the US Open since 1974 at Winged Foot, where Tom Watson led at 3-over 213. That was the year Hale Irwin won at 7-over 287, the year which gave Winged Foot its reputation as one wicked test of golf.

And it sure lived up to it on a steamy Saturday afternoon.

Steve Stricker held on to his tenuous lead for eight holes until he started missing fairways and limped home to a 76. Colin Montgomerie dropped five shots on his first four holes, then steadied himself for a 75 that kept alive faint hopes of a first major.

Padraig Harrington needed a birdie on the 18th hole to catch Mickelson, but made a mess of it. The Irishman barely made contact out of the deep rough, moving the ball only about 15 yards into the fairway. Once he got out of a greenside bunker, he three-putted for a triple bogey that sent him spiraling down the leaderboard.

Mickelson was immune to such struggles on the back nine.

He holed a 6-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole and a slippery 15-footer on the 16th that sent the New York gallery into a frenzy, one of the few times all day they had reason to unleash their unbridled support of their beloved Lefty.

Mickelson's 10-foot birdie on the 18th ran 5 feet by the cup, but he made that for par and walked off the green with a tip of the cap.

Vijay Singh had to make a 30-foot par putt to stay in the hunt, only three shots behind. Jim Furyk bogeyed two of the last three holes and was another shot back.

Woods is long gone, having missed the cut in a major for the first time in his professional career. And considering this is only the fourth major Ferrie has played -- and his first on a weekend -- this US Open is Mickelson's for the taking. He wasn't ready to grab the trophy sitting next to him in a television interview, though.

"I want to win this trophy," he said. "But I've got 18 holes. I've got a lot of work to do."

Geoff Ogilvy, whose temper gets in the way of his golf at times, kept his head and shot 72 to finish at 3-over 213. Singh and Ian Poulter, who each shot 70, joined Stricker and Montgomerie at 215.

Ten players were separated by four shots, with four of them having won majors -- Mickelson, Singh, Furyk and Mike Weir, who took double bogey out of the bunker on the 18th hole for a 71 which left him in group at 216 with Furyk and Harrington.

But the focus is squarely on Mickelson.

"Somebody told me today on the course I was `the man,'" Ferrie said. "I guess Phil is a bigger man."

New Yorkers fell in love with Mickelson at Bethpage Black when he was a sympathetic figure in a losing battle with Woods at the 2002 US Open. He broke their hearts two years later at Shinnecock Hills, tied for the lead until a double bogey on the 71st hole. Even after his breakthrough at the 2004 Masters, the connection between Mickelson and New York was strong.

A victory today would make him only the 15th player to capture three legs of the Grand Slam.

"He's got the opportunity of doing what Tiger did, winning three majors in a row," Montgomerie said. "That's a big feat."

Mickelson climbed into the lead the way Woods has done so many times, by making just enough birdies and letting everyone else around him collapse in a series of errors.

Consecutive bogeys closed out his front nine in 36 and left him five shots behind. But that was the last of his mistakes, and it was almost as though Mickelson could sense the carnage around him. He played aggressively but in control, firing at flags and giving himself birdie putts on the final eight holes.
This story has been viewed 1294 times.