Another record slips Lefty’s grip

PGA Tour golfer Phil Mickelson missed a chance to break the PGA Tour’s 36-hole scoring record Friday when he finished with a double bogey during the second round of the Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz.

PGA Tour golfer Phil Mickelson missed a chance to break the PGA Tour’s 36-hole scoring record Friday when he finished with a double bogey during the second round of the Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

— Phil Mickelson made a mess of his final hole in the second round of the Phoenix Open, costing him another shot at PGA Tour history.

A day after his putt for a 59 curled 180 degrees and lipped out, Lefty missed a chance to break the PGA Tour’s 36-hole scoring record Friday when he finished with a double bogey.

“You always remember kind of the last hole, the last putt,” Mickelson said. “But I think it’s very possible that’s going to help me because it’s got me refocused, that I cannot ease up on a single shot. I’ve got to be really focused.These guys are going to make a lot of birdies and I’ve got to get after it and cannot make those kinds of mistakes.”

Mickelson followed his opening 60 with a 65 to reach 17-under-par 125, a stroke off the tour record for the first two rounds of a tournament set by Pat Perez in the 2009 Bob Hope Classic and matched by David Toms at Colonial in 2011.

“Unfortunately, I made a double on the last hole and didn’t finish the way I wanted to,” Mickelson said. “But I think it’s a good example of what can happen on this course. You can make a lot of birdies and eagles, make up a lot of ground, but there’s a lot of water and trouble there that if you misstep you can easily make bogeys and double.”

His drive on No. 18 bounced into the left-side water hazard and, after a penalty drop, he still had a chance to get up down for par and the record.

But he didn’t get enough on his approach shot, with the ball landing on the green and rolling off the front edge. His chip got away from him a bit, running 7 feet past, and his bogey putt slid by to the left, leaving him with a share of the Phoenix Open 36-hole record set by Mark Calcavecchia in 2001.

“I hit a good shot, I thought,” Mickelson said. “I tried to start it right down the middle and hold it into the wind. It just leaked a little bit left. I still thought it was up. ... Then I hit a poor wedge from there. But the tee shot I didn’t think was going to be in the water at any point.”

The double bogey left him four strokes ahead of Bill Haas and five in front of Keegan Bradley and Brandt Snedeker. Haas shot a 64, Bradley 63, and Snedeker 66. Bryce Molder (Conway) was at 134 after a 67 with six birdies and two bogeys. Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) was another stroke back after a 69 with an eagle, a birdie and a bogey.

Mickelson, the winner at TPC Scottsdale in 1996 and 2005, parred the first six holes and played the next 11 in 8 under before the lapse on 18.

The 42-year-old former Arizona State star made a 4-foot birdie putt on the par-4 ninth - the hole where he missed the putt for a 59 on Thursday - and overpowered the par-5 15th for an eagle, hitting to 4 feet after a 358-yard drive.

“I felt really comfortable on the tee box, so I kind of let one go and caught a hold of it and ended up having 191 to the pin,” Mickelson said. “It was only 186 to the front, and I hit a hard 8-iron. There was a little bit of helping wind.”

After a par on the par-3 16th that drew boos from the rowdy fans on the stadium hole when his tee shot trickled into the fringe, he drove the green on the 344-yard 17th and two putted from 70 feet - leaving his eagle try a foot short - for birdie.

Bradley also eagled the 15th, hitting a 350-yard drive and a 7-iron approach to 8 feet.

“I just smashed a driver down there,” Bradley said. “I had been hitting 3-wood and I’m driving the ball so well that I just decided to rip driver down there.”

He birdied the 16th, hitting to 5 feet.

“It reminds me of when I go to Fenway Park,” Bradley said. “There’s always like a murmur. ... It’s really cool. I dig it. I wish there was more holes like that out here.”

He birdied Nos. 5-8 on his back nine, holing putts of 10 15, 20 and 8 feet.

“It was such a relief to shoot a good number,” Bradley said. “I’ve been playing so well this whole year and haven’t made many putts. Today, the putts started to go in.”

Haas began play on No. 10 and made the turn at 6-under 30.

“We all know the way the course is playing, if there’s no wind on the weekend, you’ve just got to keep making birdies,” Haas said.

EUROPEAN TOUR Sterne still leads

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Richard Sterne sank a birdie on 18 to take a one-shot lead over Danish youngster Thorbjorn Olesen and two others after the second round of the Dubai Desert Classic on Friday.

Meanwhile, Sergio Garcia pulled within three of Sterne despite struggling with shoulder problems that required treatment midway through his round.

Sterne, a South African who has struggled with his own injuries in recent years, finished the day with a 12-under-par total of 132. Olesen (66), Tommy Fleetwood (68)and Stephen Gallacher (70) were a shot back.

Six more players were within three shots of Sterne including Garcia, whose 67 put him at 9 under.

Early on, it appeared it would be a disappointing day for Garcia. The tightness in his left shoulder during the first round continued on Friday. He contemplated withdrawing four holes into the round but reconsidered when he got hot, carding two of his five birdies and an eagle on the final three holes.

“On the 14th green, I told my caddie, if it doesn’t get better after 18, we’ll probably walk. Because what I don’t want is to keep building up and not really recover it,” Garcia said. “Then, unfortunately, we started making birdies and eagles, and I thought, well, what do we do now? So I got the physio out and, he worked on it a little bit, put some ball on it. It did feel a little bit better.”

LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR Walshe takes stroke lead

GOLD COAST, Australia - American Alison Walshe birdied the 17th hole in an opening-round 6-under 66 that gave her a one-stroke lead over Jessica Korda at the Australian Ladies Masters at Royal Pines on Friday.

Korda, the daughter of former tennis player Petr Korda, won last year’s Women’s Australian Open at Royal Melbourne in a playoff for her first LPGA Tour victory.

Spain’s Belen Mozo, Australia’s Stacy Keating, American Dori Carter and Thailand’s Nontaya Srisawang were two strokes behind with 68s.

Seven-time champion Karrie Webb was in a large group four shots back in the seasonopening event of the Ladies European Tour and Australian circuit.

Cheyenne Woods, Tiger Woods’ niece, shot 74.

Leaderboard PGA TOUR PHOENIX OPEN At TPC Scottsdale, Stadium Course (Par 71, 7,216 yards), Scottsdale, Ariz.

Phil Mickelson .................... 60-65-125 Bill Haas ............................. 65-64-129 Keegan Bradley .................. 67-63-130 Brandt Snedeker ................ 64-66-130

ARKANSANS Bryce Molder ...................... 67-67-134 Ken Duke ............................ 66-69-135 - Complete scores, Page 3C

Sports, Pages 28 on 02/02/2013