SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Spencer 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 pushed him to 14-under-par Friday in the second round of the Phoenix Open. A few minutes — and another cigarette — later, he parred the 18th for an 8-under 63 and a three-stroke lead.
“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.”
Harrison Frazar was 6-under for the round and 11-under overall with three holes left at TPC Scottsdale when play was suspended because of darkness.
“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.
“I was able to kind of self-correct it a little bit for the back to shoot 4-under and turn it around,” Mickelson said. “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.
Vijay Singh, Stewart Cink, Tommy Gainey and Chris Kirk withdrew after play was suspended.
Wind blows away round in Qatar
DOHA, Qatar — European Tour officials reduced the Qatar Masters to 54 holes when they called off play after strong winds moved golf balls and blowing sand reduced visibility on several holes.
John Daly, who had yet to start his second round, was the clubhouse leader after his 5-under 67.
Ryu leads Australian Ladies
GOLD COAST, Australia — U.S. Open champion So Yeon Ryu shot an 11-under 61 to take a four-stroke lead over Christel Boeljon (65) after two rounds of the Australian Ladies Masters. Ryu, who had 12 birdies and a bogey, had a two-round total of 17-under
