Phil Mickelson birdied two of his last three holes for a 6-under 66 Friday, earning him share of the lead after two rounds of the Ford Championship at Doral and a Saturday pairing with Tiger Woods.
Woods settled for pars on his final four holes for a 5-under 67, giving him a 13-under 131 along with Mickelson, Scott Verplank and Colombia's Camilo Villegas.
The scores pitted Mickelson and Woods together in the final pairing Saturday, rekindling memories of last year's final round where Woods prevailed over the tense final holes.
PHOTO: AP
"There are guys that are right there that are going to go out and make a lot of birdies, and it will be easy for them. They will have no pressure on them," Mickelson said. "It won't be ... anything like Sunday last year, where we're watching what each other is doing and trying to beat each other."
Nine players are within three shots of the lead.
Verplank, who shot 65, nearly holed a chip with his 5-wood from behind the 18th green that would have given him the outright lead, prompting a television reporter to suggest that he was imposing on the headline attractions Woods and Mickelson.
"Why do you say that?" Verplank said, knowing full well what he meant. I lost in a playoff a couple of years ago," Verplank said, toying with the reporter. "I know my way around this course pretty good. I beg to differ. We'll see what happens."
Villegas, the big-hitting rookie in pink pants, nearly made eagle on the par-5 eighth and joined the leaders with an 18-foot birdie putt on his final hole for a 66.
Two former PGA champions -- Davis Toms (66) and Rich Beem (67) -- were one shot behind, along with Mark Wilson (67). The group at 10-under 134 included Dean Wilson, Lucas Glover and Chad Campbell, who chipped in from 40 yards on the 17th.
Regardless, the spotlight will shine on two of the biggest names in golf, especially after last year, when Woods rallied from two shots behind, Mickelson made birdies to regain a share of the lead, and Woods won with a 30-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole.
Woods has said he enjoys such head-to-head battles, and Mickelson thinks he knows why.
"His record is a little better than mine," Mickelson said. "Of course he enjoys it."
Both started slowly in the pristine conditions of morning in Miami, with warm weather and barely a trace of a breeze. Woods reached the par-5 10th in two for a two-putt birdie, then wasted good birdie chances until a pitch from the rough short of the 16th green that stopped 6 feet away.
He birdied the 18th from the fringe, had an easy time for birdie with the par-5 first hole, then hit another chip from the rough on the short second hole that skipped to a stop 2 feet from the cup.
Woods was on his way to a comfortable margin until making his only bogey of the tournament, from the bunker left of the fourth green. He got the shot back with a wedge into 4 feet on the fifth, then made all pars.
Mickelson also sputtered around with pars, then hit a 4-wood to 8 feet from the cup for eagle at the par-5 eighth. He finished strong with a pitch to 8 feet on the 16th and a wedge to 3 feet on the 17th, converting both for birdies.
"We've got a long way to go," Woods said. "You've got to continue making birdies and see what happens. Right now, we're tied for the lead. By the end of the day, we may not be."
ADVANTAGE ATLETICO: Well off the pace in La Liga, the Copa del Rey represents Atletico Madrid’s best chance of silverware this season Atletico Madrid on Thursday hammered Copa del Rey holders Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of their semi-final. After an Eric Garcia own-goal sent Diego Simeone’s side ahead early on, Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookman and Julian Alvarez struck to give Atletico a landslide lead by halftime. Barca defender Garcia was sent off in the final stages, with Atletico maintaining their significant advantage on the record 32-time winners, which they take into the second leg at the Camp Nou on March 3. Both sides missed good chances in the second half, with Barca’s Pau Cubarsi having a goal disallowed before Garcia was sent off
Dasun Shanaka hammered the fastest half-century by a Sri Lankan in T20Is as the cohosts thrashed Oman by 105 runs at the World Cup yesterday in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, for their second win in Group B. The 2014 champions piled up 225-5, the highest total of the tournament, before restricting an outclassed Oman to 120-9. The 43-year-old Mohammad Nadeem waged a lone battle for Oman, compiling an unbeaten 53 to become the oldest player to score a 50 in T20 World Cups. Having promoted himself up the order and under pressure to deliver, Sri Lanka skipper Shanaka smashed a 19-ball half-century. It has been
Kawhi Leonard on Sunday scored 41 points, grabbed eight rebounds and made four steals to lead the Los Angeles Clippers in a lopsided 115-96 victory at Minnesota. The 34-year-old forward, a two-time NBA champion, matched the second-best road scoring effort of his career as the Clippers improved to 25-27. “Just being aggressive. My teammates trust me,” Leonard said. “Every moment when I touch the ball — assist, shooting the basketball or getting a rebound — I’m just trying to help the team win.” Leonard made three steals in a row at the start of the contest. “Just wanted to come out early in the
FLOP TO CONQUEROR: It was sweet vindication for Sam Darnold, who played for four NFL teams before his debut season in Seattle ended in the ultimate win The Seattle Seahawks on Sunday coasted to Super Bowl glory, routing the New England Patriots 29-13 as Sam Darnold sealed his journey from flop quarterback to conqueror of the NFL’s biggest prize. Brushing off a reputation for wilting in big games, journeyman quarterback Darnold threw for a touchdown and 200 yards on the grandest stage of all to give the Seahawks their second-ever Lombardi Trophy. “It’s unbelievable. Everything that has happened in my career, but to do it with this team, I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Darnold said. The victory was buoyed by a dominant defensive display and kicker Jason Myers’
RSS