PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — With each birdie, Phil Mickelson put some life into an overcast day at Pebble Beach and gave himself another chance to finally take something more than silver home from a U.S. Open.
It wasn’t enough to catch Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell, who set the early pace Friday with a 3-under-par 68 to take a two-shot lead into the weekend. All that mattered to Mickelson, however, was getting back to even par.
He did one better.
With five birdies in a seven-hole stretch early in his round, Mickelson shot a tournament-best 66 and joined a shrinking group of five players who have beaten par over two days at Pebble Beach.
McDowell was at 3-under 139, and he made even more friends with a bogey on the final hole. Because of the 10-shot cut rule, that assured 60-year-old Tom Watson two more rounds in what likely will be his final U.S. Open.
“I hate to miss the cut, I really do,” Watson said after his morning round. “It just grates on me when I miss the cut. I hate it, I always have.”
Mickelson was joined at 1-under 141 by two-time U.S. Open champion Ernie Els (68), 18-year-old Ryo Ishikawa (71) and Dustin Johnson (70), who has won the last two times in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and looks right at home in much firmer conditions.
“Whenever you have success at a golf course you get a lot of confidence,” Johnson said. “So I’ve got a lot of confidence at this golf course, and it sets up very well for me.”
The names weren’t important to Mickelson. Only the numbers.
“I’m in a good spot,” said Mickelson, whose five runner-up finishes is a U.S. Open record. “I don’t look at the leaderboard. I don’t look at other players. I look at par. If you can stay around par, you’re going to be in the tournament Sunday. That was kind of the goal.”
The Masters champion opened with a 75 on Thursday after missing a half-dozen birdie putts inside 12 feet. On Friday, he hardly missed anything.
It began with an approach into about 4 feet on the tough par-4 second hole, and Mickelson was relentless on the front nine until hitting into the cavernous bunker short of the ninth green and making his only bogey.
By then, he was back in the game.
Tiger Woods said he’s still in the mix, too, although a pedestrian round of 1-over 72 left him seven shots behind. Woods has never won a major when trailing by more than six shots going into the weekend.
Asked if he liked his positions, Woods replied: “Absolutely. I’m right there in the championship. I just need to make a few more birdies, a few more putts on the weekend, and I’ll be right there.”
It starts with McDowell, a 30-year-old with five European Tour victories and two 18-hole leads in the majors.
BESTS
Ernie Els:
Shot himself back into tournament contention with a 68 on Friday. He is eyeing a third U.S. Open title.
Phil Mickelson:
After a 66, he’s now the favorite to win and may end up ranked No. 1 in the world.
Dustin Johnson, right:
Only 24, but has two wins on the tour. Two solid rounds (71-70), and he might be a name you’ll be hearing a lot on Sundays in coming years.
Ryo Ishikawa:
Japanese star making his U.S. debut a successful one so far, scoring 70-71.
Tom Watson:
Made the cut at 7-over par and stirred a lot of memories with an even-par 71 on Friday.
WORSTS
Tiger Woods:
Still in the hunt at 4-over par, after a 72 on Friday, but a lot further back than he would like.
Shaun Micheel:
Thursday, headed the bests list at left. Not today. Backed up his first-round 69 with a 5-over-par 76 to drop back into the field.
Rocco Mediate:
Popularity aside, back-to-back 77s produce an early departure from the Monterey Peninsula.
No. 14:
The Associated Press called it “the hole of doom, to do it proper justice.” The par-5 is averaging 5.4-plus strokes, making it the hardest hole on the Pebble Beach course.
