Mickelson takes wild ride into share of the lead (AP)
LOS ANGELES (AP)—Phil Mickelson hit one tree, threaded a shot through five
trees and hit a drive that wound up in a spectator’s shorts. He somehow managed
a 1-under 70 on Saturday to share the lead with PGA champion Keegan Bradley in
the Northern Trust Open.
Bradley, inspired by a Riviera course that is one of his favorites, took
only five putts over the final five holes, including a 10-footer for par on the
last hole, for a 5-under 66 that assured him being in the final group.
The par was meaningful because he wanted to play Sunday with Mickelson, a
mentor to him.
There’s no telling what to expect in the final round. The phrase “routine
par” was not part of Mickelson’s vocabulary on a beautiful afternoon off Sunset
Boulevard.
Mickelson played one chip well past the hole on the par-3 sixth so it would
roll off the bank some 25 feet behind the cup and roll back. He made a 12-footer
for his par.
The only disappointment was not taking advantage of enough birdie chances,
twice missing birdie putts inside 8 feet and failing to give himself a good look
on the par-5 17th when his wedge rolled off the front of the green.
Mickelson and Bradley were at 7-under 206, though this is hardly a two-man
race at Riviera.
A dozen players were within four shots of the lead going into the final
round, including defending champion Aaron Baddeley (66), Dustin Johnson (67) and
FedEx Cup champion Bill Haas (68).
Johnson was tied for the lead until he botched the end of his round. He made
bogey from the bunker on the 16th, then three-putted for bogey from just outside
3 feet on the 17th. He finished with a birdie and a small measure of redemption.
“I’m going to come out tomorrow and give it everything I’ve got,” Johnson
said.
Pat Perez still has a shot, too. He three-putted from 10 feet for bogey on
the third hole, then took four putts on the next hole. His long birdie try from
60 feet on the fringe came up 5 feet short, and Perez took three more putts from
there.
But he kept his patience, made a few birdies and shot 70. Perez was in the
group one shot out of the lead along with Jonathan Byrd, who had a 69, and Bryce
Molder, who one-putted his last eight greens for a 66.
Bradley surged into a share of the lead with an 8-foot birdie on the 16th,
and a pitch to tap-in range on the next hole. From the right rough, he came up
short of the 18th and chipped to 10 feet to set up the important closing par.
“That’s kind of why I was excited to make that putt on the last hole. I
figured that might be to get in the final group with Phil,” he said.
Bradley always has looked up to Mickelson, and the four-time major champion
invited him to play in one of his money games at The Players Championship. The
idea is for young players to learn to play under pressure, and it paid off for
Bradley when he captured the PGA Championship at the end of the year.
They have played together in a tournament only once, the opening two rounds
of The Barclays.
“Nothing like this would be,” Bradley said.
There was a stretch where Mickelson lived up to his “Phil the Thrill”
reputation at Riviera.
He pulled his tee shot so far right on the par-3 sixth that it was headed
for the ivy-covered fence until clipping a tree and dropping down. Then, instead
of hitting a lofted chip that could run to the pin, he chose to chip some 25
feet past the hole, have it run up the bank and come down. It rolled 12 feet
past the hole, and he made it for a par.
On the par-4 eighth, which gives players the option of two fairways,
Mickelson found his own route. He blasted a tee shot so far left it went over a
white fence and landed at the base of the stairs of a corporate tent. After
getting a free drop, he threaded a 9-iron through five eucalyptus trees to 12
feet.
It would have been one of the more amazing birdies in his career, except he
missed the putt.
He was introduced to a Bottle Brush on the 10th. That was the name of the
tree between the pin and where his tee shot landed. Mickelson caught a tiny
branch and didn’t reach the green, but hit a skillful pitch to 3 feet for par.
And on the 15th, Mickelson blocked a tee shot into the gallery and
discovered a man lying on his back, fearful of moving. The ball landed inside
the hem of his shorts, and he remained still until Mickelson could remove the
ball and take his free drop. He managed another par.
Haas birdied two of his last three holes and was in the group at 5-under
208, along with Johnson and Baddeley.
“I’m in a good position for tomorrow,” Haas said. “I don’t know what the
leaders are going to do, but I’ll be in striking distance.”
Tour Report: Gore takes advantage of ‘accident’ (PGATOUR.com)
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Jason Gore was prepared for the question.
And as much as Gore would like to say he had it all planned, the Twitter campaign that contributed to him getting a sponsor’s exemption for this week’s Northern Trust Open was a “pure accident.
“I wish I could tell you I set the bar and was smart enough to figure all this stuff out,” Gore said. “But that’s far from the truth.”
The wheels were set in motion as Gore sat in his hotel room in Honolulu watching an NFL playoff game — “they come on at like 3 a.m.,” he said with a grin — on the Sunday prior the the Sony Open in Hawaii. A Monday qualifying round loomed large in the Californian’s future.
“I got the computer in front of me, and I go, oh, I probably need to sign up for Monday qualifying at Northern Trust, so I did it,” Gore said. “I kind of asked (my wife), do you think I should just tweet that I just signed up and say how stoked I’d be to get a sponsor’s invite? And she goes, ‘why not?; So all I was really trying to do was get in Northern Trust’s ear.
“I didn’t know if it was some 15-year-old girl running the Twitter account for the tournament. … I was just trying to let somebody know that, hey, I’m thinking about you, and you have no idea how excited I’d be to get a spot and basically how crappy Monday qualifying is.”
Turns out, the tweet took on a life of its own. Friends and fans like Eric Magidson and Paul Regali, who played golf at Oregon, began to tweet @NTrustOpen on Gore’s behalf — and encouraged others to do the same. Gore called the support “incredible” but stopped short of more campaigning.
“I didn’t go out there and say, hey, everybody vote for me — a Gore has already lost an election,” he said, laughing.
Several weeks later, Gore got the call he had hoped for from the tournament he considers his major. Even so, the affable Californian, who has one PGA TOUR title under his belt but lost his card four years ago, couldn’t resist having a little fun.
“When they called me and said, ‘This is not about the Twitter campaign, this is on your merits,’ and I said, ‘I don’t really care to be honest with you,’ and he goes, ‘We’d like to extend you the sponsor’s invite to the Northern Trust Open,’ and I said, ‘no, I’m busy,’” Gore recalled.
Gore even went so far as to say he wanted to play in the Nationwide Tour season-opener in Bogota, Colombia this week. “He’s like, really? I’m like, “no, absolutely not. I’d be honored to play,’” Gore recalled with a smile.
The SoCal native is staying at home this week and commuting the 30 miles or so each day. He knows it will be hard to focus with so many friends and family in the gallery but it’s “back to work time,” Gore said, as he plays in his first event of 2012.
“I’ve had a hard few couple years, had shoulder surgery last year, but yeah, this is my major,” Gore said. “This is where I came out to watch golf when I was a kid. I didn’t start until I was 12 years old, so I kind of knew what golf was, and I took it pretty serious. I wasn’t like a 6-year-old kid that was like, oh, big hill, I want to roll down it. I enjoyed coming out here with my dad, and now that my dad has been gone for 14 years, it brings back good memories of we talked about this shot here and this shot here.
“… It’s at probably my favorite golf course to play, and it’s just a special week. … I can’t tell you how excited I am to be here.”
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — If nothing else, Adam Scott starts the 2012 season well-rested after an offseason break of nearly three months.
Even so, the time off seemed to fly by as Scott spent time with family and friends Down Under, watched a little tennis and even had his tonsils removed.
“But I think I needed it,” Scott said. “I’ve played a lot of golf around the world for the last 12 years, and to be able to spend three months at home for a change was really, really nice. … Now I’m refreshed and ready to go for this year.”
That wasn’t exactly the case at the end of the 2011 season. Scott felt he ran out of gas during the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup where he posted two top-10s but didn’t finish higher than 37th in the other two.
“And then I played right into the back end of the year in December in Asia and Australia,” Scott said. “So I figured starting a little later certainly wouldn’t hurt me, and hopefully I’d still be fresh enough to have a better run at the Playoffs and then into the back end of the year when I get home to Australia.”
First stop in ’12 is at the Northern Trust Open where Scott picked up an unofficial victory in 2005 and was runner-up the following year. The 31-year-old Aussie says Riviera is “probably my favorite venue” on the PGA TOUR.
He’s spent the last month or so fine-tuning his swing, eliminating a few “little habits” that crept in last season and making sure the the club was traveling more square down the line through the ball again. Most of the work, though, was just an extension of what he was doing in 2011, which he called his best full year on TOUR.
“I think I’ve prepared pretty well, so I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t play well this week,” said Scott, who picked up his eighth PGA TOUR victory last year at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.
As a sidelight to the interview, a reporter asked Scott for his thoughts on the USGA’s decision to look at belly putters and long putters and whether they should continue to have a place in the game. Scott, who has been a convert for several years, said he wasn’t aware of the move but he didn’t fear it, either.
“Just like everything in golf, it changes,” Scott said. “Driver heads weren’t 460 cc’s when the game started, just like people didn’t putt with a belly putter when the game started. So things change, and I guess it’s up to the R&A and the USGA to keep the game in the best shape possible with what they think. Whatever they think goes at the end of the day, so we’ll see.
“It’s not going to ruin me if they ban a long putter one day because I putted good some weeks with the short putter. I won a lot of tournaments. I’ll just have to work a bit harder with it.”
By Rob Bolton, PGATOUR.COM Fantasy columnist
I opened last week’s mailbag with an acknowledgement that space forces me to draw the line somewhere in sharing relevant facts and data that contribute to my analysis and opinion. This is implied, even subconsciously, when you read anything, but there is a contingent of fantasy gamers that wants every angle no matter the length. (I fully understand this. It’s one of the reasons I make myself available privately via email and Twitter, so that we can apply the insight to your unique set of variables.)
However, sometimes a writer rides a slippery slope when a broad-scale component is unwittingly attached to a specific angle without some benefit of the doubt due to space restrictions.
For example, a long-time reader emailed this after my
Agree with most picks except Choi, who isn’t in form. And as you said, you don’t find it at this course if you don’t come in with it. — Cary
Indeed, while one could perceive this is as a nitpicky “gotcha,” my comment deserves an explanation for which the space in the Power Rankings isn’t designed.
I slotted K.J. Choi at No. 10. I’m leaning on his track record at Riviera — 11-for-11 with four top 10s — and his seven consecutive top 20s worldwide before his recent three-event tailspin. Clearly, he knows how to play Riviera, so his pursuit of returning to form can actually rely on his experience there versus a fellow touring pro also on a slide but with little or no past success at the host venue.
In situations like this, course history usually trumps current form. Deciding factors are weighed on an individual-case basis. Choi’s pedigree and track record overshadow what I expect to be a blip in the long-term.
To cite a pair of examples, think of how Angel Cabrera and Phil Mickelson played prior to their victories at the Masters in 2009 and 2010, respectively. In different degrees, neither would have appeared to be an in-form threat, but both had measured success at Augusta National. Choi sets up as a similar investment this week.
Remember, analysts can always err on the side of caution by fading a guy since approximately 14 out of every 15 golfers finish outside the top 10 in most tournaments. That I’m endorsing Choi underscores my level of confidence in him at Riviera.
FEDEXCUP:
By Chris Dunham, PGATOUR.COM
Four of the TOUR’s biggest international stars — Luke Donald, Jason Day, Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia — will be making their 2012 PGA TOUR season debuts this week at Riviera.
In making their debuts at the season’s seventh event, the quartet has spotted ground to much of the field in the FedExCup race. Leader Kyle Stanley checks in with 846 points this week, and 176 professionals have made a mark in the FedExCup standings already in 2012.
That’s not to say the late-starters are in bad shape, just that they are starting from behind. Donald had little trouble with this last year. After starting his season with a missed cut at Riviera, the Englishmen racked up eight consecutive top-10 finishes en route to a third-place finish in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.
There’s hope for these players because they have histories of performing when they need to. Each of the four players listed above ranked inside the top 30 in FedExCup points per Regular Season start among players making 10 or more starts in the 2011 Regular Season. Two ranked inside the top five:
Jason Day checked in at No. 11 with 76.9 points per his 17 starts while Sergio Garcia was 29th with 50.9 points per his 13 starts.
Donald, Scott and Day each made it all the way to the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, giving them a chance to claim the FedExCup up to the very end last season. This shows that those who make a limited number of TOUR starts can still compete for the FedExCup. They just need to make the most of their opportunities.
WINNERS’ REUNION: Aaron Baddeley, coming off a fourth-place finish at Pebble Beach will be defending his title this week, but eight others with victories at Riviera will also be teeing it up.
Two of those players — Fred Couple and Phil Mickelson — have won the event multiple times. Mickelson, who won last week to move to No. 5 in the FedExCup standings, claimed the Northern Trust Open title in 2008 and 2009. Another victory this week would likely land Mickelson atop the FedExCup standings for the first time since 2009.
Charles Howell III (2007), Rory Sabbatini (2006), Scott (2005), Robert Allenby (2001), Ernie Els (1999) and Billy Mayfair (1998) also boast victories at this event. Besides Mickelson, the only past champion playing this week inside the FedExCup top 20 is Howell, who checks in at No. 17.
With the powers making their season debuts, and the number of players who have had success at Riviera, we could be looking at a major standings shakeup this week at the Northern Trust Open.
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Amy Mickelson stole a line from Loretta Castorini, the character Cher played in “Moonstruck,” and basically told her husband to “Snap out of it” last Friday afternoon.
Mickelson had just bogeyed Monterey Peninsula’s 18th hole, his ninth of the day, and fallen back to even par at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. To say he wasn’t in a positive frame of mind might have been an understatement.
After what Mickelson called a “little bit of inspiration” from his wife, though, the day turned around. Mickelson birdied five holes on the back nine to work his way into contention at the midway point, then went on to win the tournament for the fourth time on Sunday with a brilliant 64.
“That certainly helped to get me refocused,” Mickelson said of the pep talk. “I think it’s a good lesson for me to learn that if you never give up and you stay and you fight hard, you can fight through some bad stretches and still come out on top at the end of the week because you just never know when it’ll turn.”
Mickelson, who goes for two in a row this week at the Northern Trust Open, called Sunday’s round of 8 under, which was the day’s low by three strokes, “really a fun, cool round.” At the same time, Mickelson, who hadn’t finished higher than 26th in his three previous starts this year, understands how it probably seemed to come out of the blue.
“I know that a lot of people are saying, where did that round come from,” he said. “Prior to the Hope or prior to the Humana, I had played eight to 10 rounds like Sunday’s final round, and I’ve been wondering where has that been these last three weeks. I was wondering what happened those three weeks because I had been playing well prior, and I’m just glad it finally came out when I needed it the most.”
Indeed. Throughout the West Coast swing, Mickelson had been talking about how well he was hitting the ball in practice and how happy he was with his putting. Prior to coming to Pebble Beach, though, the consistency just wasn’t there.
The opportunity to play with his long-time rival Tiger Woods on Sunday, though, might have heightened Mickelson’s concentration. The two have now played together in the final round of 10 tournaments and Mickelson has shot the lower score each of the last five meetings.
“I think that because I had been playing like that prior to the season starting, I was just expecting that to happen, and I maybe didn’t give it my full attention and my full focus throughout each shot,” Mickelson said. “I knew that Sunday’s round I needed to go low. I knew that I was playing with arguably the greatest player of all time and that I needed to play some of my best golf, and I was able to focus in on each individual shot.”
Mickelson seeks his 41st PGA TOUR victory this week at Hogan’s Alley, a place where he already has two wins and a playoff loss. He’s not expecting a letdown after Sunday’s dramatic victory, either.
“Gosh, I feel like I had such a fun week that I want to try and have that again,” Mickelson said. “… I love having a chance to win. I know I was six back, but I felt like I was right in it starting the last day. I want to feel that again here at Riviera. I feel like I’m playing well and that if I play my game and focus hard, I should be able to get in contention and have that excitement again.”
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — For Fred Couples, serving as Captain of the last two U.S. Presidents Cup teams has been “more fun than playing.”
He loved watching the teams win, as well as developing friendships, by text and in person, with his players. So if the call comes for Muirfield Village in 2013, you can expect Couples to say yes to a third stint at the helm.
“It’s coming up quickly, so to be honest, I’ve talked to (PGA TOUR Commissioner) Tim (Finchem) after the tournament, and I’ve talked to a couple other guys at the TOUR,” Couples said. “I think I have a very good shot of it, and I would love to do it again, sure.”
Couples, who is playing at Riviera this week for the 30th time in the Northern Trust Open, was at his elder-statesman best on Wednesday during a pre-tournament interview, too. Here are some of his more interesting comments.
ON RIVIERA: It is my favorite tournament. Everyone talks about how great a course it is, and I just always liked it from the day I got here. 30 years later, I’m much older, but I still feel like I can play here. And last year I had a great shot at winning, actually, on Sunday. I birdied the first three holes and then played very poorly from then on in, but still managed to have a great week, and I look forward to the same thing this week.
ON LUKE DONALD AND THE MAJORS: His game doesn’t need any help. He’s the No. 1 player because he plays very consistent and wins. Because he hasn’t won a major I don’t think throws anything off. He plays well every week. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him have a shot at winning here. I don’t know how much he’s played, but this is a perfect course for long hitters and short hitters. But he’s just a great all-around player. I love the way he plays, and if I could say anything to him, just keep playing, and the way you play you’ll be No. 1, and someday you’ll win a major.”
ON PHIL MICKELSON: “The guy is a true champ. I’m older than him, but I look back and I think that he’s one of the all-time great players that I’ve seen play because of the way he plays. It’s very exciting golf, but at the same time it’s great golf. And we pick on him because maybe he’s three-putted from 5 feet before. But when you do that, you’re not scared; he’s not scared at all. He’s not a guy to back off, and when you play that way, you’re going to have those little things happen. I don’t think you can really compare him to any other players, because a lot of guys get timid when they fail, and I think he gets stronger and plays better, which I think is a great attribute for his game.
ON TIGER WOODS’ 75 ON SUNDAY: “He’s another guy that as he keeps telling everyone he needs more reps, then he needs more reps, because it’s a pretty easy game when you’re winning seven or eight times in a year. I’ll be honest with you. It didn’t seem to be too difficult. And I think now he’s working, he’s getting healthy, and I think he’s disappointed, but I don’t think he feels like he can’t close a tournament because he got beat by Phil or beat himself. But I think he’s on the right track.”
ON THE CHAMPIONS DINNER AT THE MASTERS: “I usually sit next to Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus and Ray Floyd, and what a night for me. So there’s a lot of stories told. But it’s usually very quiet and a nice night. And again, the food, I know when Phil won, he had pints of Häagen Dasz for everybody — quarts for him. He would have a second. That makes it so special. You kind of hear what’s going to come out, but then for dessert they come out with these trays of vanilla pints of Häagen Dasz and you go, wow, nice move there.”
By Alex Turnbull, PGA TOUR
The drivable par-4 10th hole at Riviera Country Club was the 454th toughest out of 918 holes on the PGA TOUR last year. However, with a scoring average of 4.025, the 10th hole was one of only three par-4s measuring 350 yards or less with an over-par scoring average in 2011.
In 2011, there were 436 tee shots on the 10th hole. 44 percent of the field went for the green and were a
combined 12-under par. The 56 percent of the field choosing to lay up were a combined 23-over par. Since
2003, there have been 3,774 tee shots on the 10th hole. Players going for the green were a combined
447-under par compared to just 76-under par combined for players laying up.
Avoiding the right hand side of the 10th hole is the key to scoring. One in every four players in the right rough have gone on to make bogey or worse.
Scoring Comparison on 10th Hole (2003-2011)
Closest to the Pin on the 10th Hole (2003-2011)
Tour Report: Leaderboard update: Phil takes lead (PGATOUR.com)
Just over two hours ago, Phil Mickelson teed off on the opening hole at Pebble Beach six shots off the lead. Now he leads the field by two strokes.
Mickelson rolled in a 21-foot eagle putt at the par-5 sixth hole and is now at 14 under. That puts him two up on Tiger Woods, Kevin Streelman and 54-hole leader Charlie Wi, who has dropped three strokes in his first five holes.
Wi has dropped three strokes in his first five holes, while playing partner Ken Duke is 1 over in the final group.
“This is fairly predictable, sad to say,” Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee said about the struggles of Wi and Duke with bigger names breathing down their necks. “We’re reminded once again how hard it is (to win a TOUR event).”
Mickelson is 5 under on his round, having also birdied the second, fourth and fifth holes.
Streelman is also 5 under on his round as he makes the turn.
Charlie Wi’s shaky start with his four-putt double bogey on the opening hole obviously has brought a lot of players back into contention.
Making the most of his round thus far is Aaron Baddeley, who is 4 under through six holes and has birdied his last three holes. That leaves him at 11 under, just two shots off Wi’s lead.
Another player with a big start is Jimmy Walker, who is 4 under through nine holes. Walker is at 10 under.
Greg Owen, Kevin Streelman and Ryan Moore also have started strong and are also each at 10 under.
Two-time AT&T Pebble Beach champion Dustin Johnson is 1 under on his first four holes but he bogeyed the par-5 second hole, which could come back to haunt him.
Wi’s playing partner, Ken Duke, is even through three holes and is the only player one shot off the pace.
Charlie Wi, the 54-hole leader, got off to a horrible start. He just four-putted from 35-1/2 feet for a double bogey on the first hole at Pebble Beach.
Fifteen minutes earlier, Wi started his round with a three-shot lead. Now it’s one shot over playing partner Ken Duke.
It was Wi’s first double bogey of the week. He had bogey-free rounds at Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula but suffered four bogeys (against five birdies and an eagle) in his earlier round at Pebble Beach this week.
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are paired together in Sunday’s final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. The two PGA TOUR stars are in the penultimate group and will start the day behind 54-hole leader Charlie Wi. Woods is four shots back; Mickelson is six back.
Here are a few things to consider as Woods and Mickelson prepare for the 30th time they’ve been paired together as pros:
> Of those previous 29 times, nine have been in the final round. Woods has gone on to win three times; Mickelson has emerged the winner two times. Outside of their first final-round pairing — the 1997 PGA Championship, in which each finished tied for 29th — Mickelson has never finished outside the top 10 on the leaderboard when paired with Tiger in the final round; Tiger, meanwhile has only finished outside the top 10 one other time, at the 2010 BMW Championship. (see chart at bottom)
> Amazingly, their stroke averages for those nine previous final-round pairings are identical — 69.33. Mickelson and Woods have each taken 624 strokes when paired together in the final round. Mickelson has shot the better final-round score the last four times.
> No active PGA TOUR player has won more multiple-course events than Mickelson. Twelve of his 39 career wins have come at events in which multiple courses were used. Woods is second on that active list with 11. Mickelson has won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am three times; Woods has won it once, in 2000 (the same year he also won the U.S. Open when it was played solely at Pebble Beach).
> Each is hoping to get off to a good start in order to put early pressure on Wi, who is seeking his first TOUR win.
“This golf course, you can come out and get a quick start, make some birdies and when that happens, it’s tough to follow suit a few groups behind,” Mickelson said. “So I’m in a nice situation where if I can get a hot hand early, I can make a run on the leaderboard.”
Having two par-5 holes among the first six at Pebble Beach should allow for a quick start. That might play more into Woods’ hands — He’s 8 under on the par 5s this week, while Mickelson is 4 under. On Saturday at Pebble Beach, Woods birdied the second hole and parred the sixth; Mickelson bogeyed the second hole and parred the sixth.
> According to ShotLink, no player has been better with their irons this week than Woods. Through three rounds, Tiger has hit a field-leading 43 of 54 greens in regulation (tying him with Jason Kokrak). The last time Woods hit 43 or more greens thru 54 holes of a non-major was at the 2009 Buick Open (which he went on to win).
But a note of caution — in his previous start at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on the European Tour, Woods hit 46 of his first 54 greens in regulation to take the 54-hole lead, but then hit just five greens in the final round to finish third.
> Woods has not won a TOUR event since the 2009 BMW Championship, but he seems on the verge of ending that drought. He won his limited-field Chevron World Challenge event in December and has owned or shared the 54-hole lead in three of his last five starts, including at Abu Dhabi.
Woods realizes the more times he keeps putting himself in this position, he’ll eventually get back to his winning ways.
“That’s why we play is to be there and that’s why I train as hard as I do and practice as hard as I do is to put myself in those positions,” he said. “And when you’re not in those positions, it’s frustrating because the majority of the time when we play golf, we are not in those positions. That’s the tough part of our sport.
“So of late, I’ve been putting myself in these positions, and it feels good.”
> Making up four shots will be difficult, but as we’ve seen the last two weeks, no 54-hole lead is safe. Woods has come-from-behind 20 times in the final round to win PGA TOUR events; Mickelson has 16 come-from-behind wins.
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson tee off at 12:29 p.m. ET on Sunday. You can follow their round on WOODS-MICKELSON FINAL-ROUND PAIRINGS * – not an official PGA TOUR event
Just over two hours ago, Phil Mickelson teed off on the opening hole at Pebble Beach six shots off the lead. Now he leads the field by two strokes. Mickelson rolled in a 21-foot eagle putt at the par-5 sixth hole and is now at 14 under. That puts him two up on Tiger Woods, […]
Curtis takes to European Tour to find form (AP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)—Former British Open champion Ben Curtis is
just happy to be playing in the weekend in Dubai after poor form last season
cost him his U.S. PGA Tour card.
The American missed the cut in more than half the U.S. PGA events he played
in 2011 and he hasn’t had a win since 2006.
With two years left on his 10-year European Tour exemption after winning the
2003 British Open, Curtis has started this year by playing the tour’s desert
swing that concludes with the Dubai Desert Classic this weekend.
After finishing 48th in Abu Dhabi and 47th in Qatar, Curtis has improved
this week. He made five birdies on his way to a 5-under 67 on Friday to reach 7
under for the tournament. He is six shots behind clubhouse leader Rory McIlroy
in 11th.
Cabrera-Bello takes clubhouse lead in Dubai (AP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)—Rafael Cabrera-Bello made nine birdies in his
first 11 holes Thursday to take the clubhouse lead in the first round of the
Dubai Desert Classic, finishing with a 9-under 63 to sit two strokes ahead of
Marcel Siem and Scott Jamieson.
The 27-year-old Spaniard said it was his consistent short game that helped
put him in contention for a second European Tour win and first since 2009. He
chipped to within three feet on his fourth hole for birdie, then sank a 20-foot
birdie putt on his fifth and made a 15-foot putt on his eighth.
“It felt simple. I know it’s not and I know it’s really hard to repeat,”
the 119th-ranked Cabrera-Bello said. “But it felt like everything was going
nice and smooth today.”
As he made the turn, Cabrera-Bello said he briefly thought about scoring 59,
one shot better than his career-best 60 which helped him win the Austrian Open.
But he ended the round with seven straight pars and said it’s too soon to start
thinking about winning the tournament.
“I don’t think anyone who plays good in any tournament in the first round
thinks about winning,” Cabrera-Bello said. “I’m sure that is one thing you
shouldn’t do. … You only need to think about how many times the first-round
leader ends up winning, which I don’t think is a very good percentage.”
Siem (65) started by making a long birdie putt on No. 2, then chipped in on
No. 6 for the third of his four birdies on the front. The 223rd-ranked German
challenged for the lead with three birdies on his last four holes. But then he
found the water on the 18th with his second shot and finished with a bogey.
“It was one of my best days of golf to be honest,” Siem said. “At the
beginning, I didn’t hit all the fairways. But on the back nine, I hit all the
fairways and my iron shots were all straight at it.”
Jamieson also had a strong round, with the Scot making five birdies and an
eagle in a bogey-free 65.
Four players—including Thomas Bjorn of Denmark—are three shots behind
Cabrera-Bello. Third-ranked Lee Westwood (69) is six shots off the pace.
U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy, fourth-ranked Martin Kaymer and defending
champion Alvaro Quiros were still on the course.
———
Follow Michael Casey on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mcasey1
Spencer Levin takes Phoenix Open lead (AP)
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP)—Spencer Levin took the Phoenix Open lead with a
hard-charging approach. He figures that’s the best way to stay there, too.
“You don’t want to get too tentative or play away from shots,” Levin said.
“If you want to play well and make birdies you can’t do that, so I’m just going
to try and stay as aggressive as I can the next two days.”
Levin holed out from a greenside bunker for eagle on the par-4 17th and shot
an 8-under 63 on Friday to reach 14 under. He had a five-stroke lead when the
delayed second round was completed Saturday morning at TPC Scottsdale.
“Hopefully, I can just keep trying to believe in myself and just keep
trying to make my swing, and we’ll see what happens,” Levin said. “I’m going
to give it my best shot. It should be fun. I’m looking forward to it.”
On 17, Levin took one last drag on his cigarette, stamped it out in the
rough and climbed into the bunker behind the 17th green. He set up quickly, took
a quick glance at the hole and splashed out. The ball landed about 10 feet from
the hole, bounced twice and rolled into the cup for an eagle-2.
“That was pretty cool,” Levin said.
Harrison Frazar was 11 under with three holes left Friday when play was
suspended because of darkness. He had two bogeys Saturday morning to drop to 9
under.
“There toward the end it was getting kind of tough to control the ball and
to see it,” said Frazar, the St. Jude Classic winner last year. “The
temperature dropped, so the ball flies a little differently.”
Webb Simpson, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 6, was third at
8 under along with tour rookie John Huh. Simpson shot a 69 in the last group to
finish play on No. 18, and Huh had a 66.
“That was probably the darkest I’ve ever played,” Simpson said. “I
couldn’t really see anything.”
Kyle Stanley was 7 under after a 66 as he tries to rebound from a
devastating loss last week. On Sunday at Torrey Pines, he made a triple-bogey 8
on the final hole of regulation and lost to Brandt Snedeker in a playoff.
The 27-year-old Levin, remembered for a hole-in-one and 13th-place tie in
the 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock while still in school at New Mexico, is winless
on the PGA Tour. He came close last year, losing a playoff to Johnson Wagner in
the Mayakoba Golf Classic. At Torrey Pines, Levin had a share of the first-round
lead after a 62, but followed with rounds of 76, 73 and 72 to tie for 43rd.
“Last week I played great the first round and didn’t play well the rest of
the week, but overall I think my game is getting better,” Levin said.
Fan favorite Phil Mickelson finished off a 70 at dusk to reach 4 under. He
had a bogey and a double bogey in a front-nine 38, then made four birdies—the
last drawing the loudest cheers of the day on the amphitheater par-3 16th—on
the back nine.
“The front nine, I don’t know what to say. I mean, it was just terrible,”
said Mickelson, the former Arizona State star who won the tournament in 1996 and
2005.
“I was able to kind of self-correct it a little bit for the back to shoot 4
under and turn it around. It’s not what I was hoping for going into the day, but
I’m looking forward to playing the weekend and seeing if I can light it up.”
Defending champion Mark Wilson, coming off a victory two weeks ago in the
Humana Challenge, was 3 under after a 69.
Levin was one of 42 players who finished the first round Friday morning
after play was suspended because of darkness Thursday.
He hit his first shot of the day to 3 feet to set up a birdie on the par-3
seventh and parred the final two holes for a 65 that left him a stroke behind
first-round leaders Jason Dufner and Ryan Palmer.
Levin then birdied the first two holes in the second round, holing 20- and
15-foot putts. He hit to 2 feet to set up a birdie on the fifth, added a
15-footer on No. 12 and got up and down from behind the green on the par-5 13th
for another birdie.
The key shots came on the par-5 15th after he hit his approach into the
water and had his ball roll into a sand-filled divot on the penalty drop. He hit
to 10 feet, made the putt to save par, then birdied the par-3 16th and eagled
the par-4 17th.
“That was huge,” Levin said. “I took a drop and the ball rolled a good
step and a half into this sand divot. I didn’t even see it. Some weird thoughts
were going through my head. I actually hit a great shot. I hit it out of the
sand divot to about 10 feet. I was just trying to get it on the green.
“So, the momentum from being in the sand divot to making a par and then
going 2-2 on the next two holes was huge. It could have gone the other way.”
On the 16th, he hit a little draw pin-high to 8 feet and made the putt to
the delight of the noisy fans who chanted his name before he teed off. He then
holed the bunker shot after driving over the green on the 335-yard 17th and
closed with a par on 18, missing a tricky, downhill 10-footer.
“That was a fast one,” Levin said. “I didn’t really get it started on
line, but I just nudged it and it still went a foot and a half by. But that was
a tough pin because if you get left of it, it’s off the green, so I hit a good
second shot.”
Thirty-four players were unable to finish the second round Friday after
frost delayed the start for an hour for the second straight day. On Saturday,
play was delayed 15 minutes because of frost. Last year, frost and frozen greens
delayed play nine hours during the week, forcing a Monday finish.
DIVOTS: The crowd was announced at 116,299, the fourth-largest for a Friday
in tournament history. … Arron Oberholser, returning from hand and hip
injuries, shot 72-71 in his first PGA Tour start since October 2009. He missed
the cut by a stroke. … Jeff Overton withdrew on the final hole because of a
lingering left wrist injury. After opening with a 67, he was 5 over for the
round when he hooked his tee shot into the water on 18 and stopped playing. …
Vijay Singh, Stewart Cink, Tommy Gainey and Chris Kirk withdrew after play was
suspended.
Daly takes clubhouse lead at windy Qatar Masters (AP)
DOHA, Qatar (AP)—John Daly overcame windy and dusty conditions to shoot a
5-under 67 Thursday and take the clubhouse lead at the Qatar Masters, one shot
ahead of K.J. Choi and two better than 1999 British Open champion Paul Lawrie.
The two-time major winner had five birdies in a bogey-free round despite
wind gusts over 20 mph that whipped up the desert sand that surrounds the
course. Daly, who quit the Australian Open in November after hitting seven balls
in the water, has not won in eight years.
“It was brutal. I’m pretty shocked myself shooting 5-under,” said Daly,
sporting a buzz cut and bright red and black checkered pants.
“It was great start,” he said. “It was one of best rounds I ever played.
I mean that. That is just how hard the golf course is playing.”
Daly, who won the 1995 British Open in windy and rainy conditions, said he
often thrives in tough conditions like those Thursday, adding that he was helped
by consistent driving and the way he “managing the course.”
“I had a lot of chances to at least hit the greens and I can’t say its from
practicing a lot because I took a lot of time off which I pretty much needed,”
said Daly, who is opening his season in Doha. “I love the way I putted. I’ve
always been kind of decent in the wind. I’m a streaky putter so you can
sometimes hit some bad putts and get away with it.”
Choi (68) also had a bogey-free round that included three birdies on his
front nine. Nicolas Colsaerts, Peter Hanson and Richard Finch were tied with
Lawrie another shot back. Finch was tied for the lead but bogeyed his last two
holes.
Fourth-ranked Martin Kaymer (71) was four shots behind.
———
Follow Michael Casey on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mcasey1
Stanley takes lead at Torrey Pines (AP)
SAN DIEGO (AP)—Kyle Stanley overcame a double bogey early in Friday’s round by
running off four birdies on the front nine for a 4-under 68, giving him a
one-shot lead in the Farmers Insurance Open going into the weekend.
Brandt Snedeker, who first gained fame as a rookie at Torrey Pines when he
shot 61 on the North Course, had a 64 on the North again to make a swift climb
up to second. He is coming off hip surgery at the end of last year and made his
season debut at the Humana Challenge last week by tying for eighth.
“I’m certainly surprised that I played this well this fast,” Snedeker
said. “Normally, it takes me a while to get the rust off. But my practice at
home went really, really well. I was actually chomping at the bit to get out
here because I knew I was playing well.
“Hopefully, that can happen through the weekend.”
Stanley, long off the tee and as polished as any of the PGA Tour rookies who
won last year, was at 14-under 130 after playing the more difficult South
course.
A tournament already missing Tiger Woods will have to do without hometown
star Phil Mickelson on the weekend. He shot himself out of the tournament with a
77 on the South course in the opening round, and didn’t make nearly enough
birdies on the North to make the cut. Mickelson had to settle for a 68, missing
the cut for the first time in 10 years at Torrey Pines.
“We’re going to have perfect weather out here at Torrey, and I’d love to be
playing,” Mickelson said.
Sang-Moon Bae, a PGA Tour rookie who is No. 34 in the world, had a 67 to
match the best score on the South for the second round. That put him two shots
behind at 12-under 132, along with Martin Flores, who also had a 67 on the
South.
Hunter Mahan shot 65 on the North, while FedEx Cup champion Bill Haas had a
71 on the South. They were three shots behind.
The cut came at 2-under 142, and there will be another cut Saturday because
more than 78 players are still around. That group includes Geoff Ogilvy, who
birdied his last hole on the North for a 70, and Ernie Els, who was at 3-under
141.
Stanley goes about his work quietly. He prefers steady golf of fairways and
greens, though there was a little too much excitement when his 7-iron from the
rough went over the green, down the slope and into the hazard. He chipped to 5
feet and missed the putt, taking double bogey, effectively wiping out the two
birdies he had made.
He followed that with a bogey from the bunker on the par-3 16th.
“I got off to a good start, and it was tough to take,” Stanley said. “But
you’ve just got to be patient out here.”
That he was. He had birdie putts on the last 11 holes he played and birdied
all the par 5s. As a testament to his length, he hit his tee shot 346 yards on
the par-5 ninth, and hit 2-iron from 270 yards.
“Not a very good one,” he said, though it left him an up-and-down from the
bunker for one last birdie.
Stanley likes his chances, for no other reason than the South is long, and
he is hitting his drives where he’s aiming at the moment.
Mark Wilson takes lead into Humana’s final round (AP)
LA QUINTA, California (AP)—Mark Wilson finished the Humana Challenge’s
wind-delayed third round at 21-under Sunday, taking a three-stroke lead over
four golfers into the final round later in the day.
Zach Johnson, Robert Garrigus, Ben Crane and Brandt Snedeker were three
strokes behind Wilson after finishing their third rounds. The tournament was
suspended Saturday afternoon after winds caused damage on all three courses.
Officials remained hopeful they could finish the competition Sunday.
Wilson is looking for yet another fast start to a year. He won twice in the
first five weeks of last season, and the American earned each of his four career
PGA Tour wins before mid-March.
Garrigus shot a third-round 61.
Rock takes 1-shot lead before rain in South Africa (AP)
JOHANNESBURG (AP)—Robert Rock opened up a one-shot lead at the Joburg Open
on Friday before thunderstorms interrupted play for a second straight day.
The Englishman shot a 4-under 67 on the West Course to move to 11-under 132
overall after completing his first round on the East Course early Friday. South
African pair Jbe Kruger (66) and Branden Grace (66) were tied for second.
More than half the field were trying to finish their second rounds when
strong wind and heavy rain lashed Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club
and ended play.
Overnight co-leader Jamie Elson was one of 12 players still to tee off.
Two-time defending champion Charl Schwartzel was 3 under after two rounds,
just inside the halfway cut.
Rock had an early start to complete his opening round, finishing on the
tougher East Course with birdies at Nos. 17 and 18. He then had an eagle and
four birdies on the West layout to open a narrow advantage in the second
European Tour event of the season.
“I don’t like 4:30 a.m. alarm calls,” he said. “The aim is to play your
way out of those by the weekend.”
Michiel Bothma also finished two rounds and was 9 under. George Coetzee, who
had played six holes of his second round, also was at 9 under.
Retief Goosen was four shots off the lead through six holes of the second
round.
Masters champion Schwartzel struggled with his putting. He had four birdies
and a bogey for a 3-under 68 on the West Course and a tie for 56th.
American Rich Beem, the 2002 PGA champion, had five bogeys in his 2-over 73
and almost certainly will miss the cut.