It’s All That’s Left for Mickelson

The leader in the PGA Championship is so steady he never has taken a putting lesson, so strong he says he hits the ball off the tee and “lets it eat” and so good that after two rounds his score is low enough that he could slide it under a door.

He’s Phil Mickelson, golf’s 26-year-old left-handed demigod in training, who tossed his second consecutive five-under-par 67 at Valhalla Golf Club on a sunny Friday and took a three-shot lead.

Mickelson’s 10-under total of 134 for 36 holes leads Justin Leonard, another one of golf’s preppy young stars. Leonard, 24, in a fine display of symmetry, turned in a 33 on the front and 33 on the back for a 66 and begins the third round at 137, seven under par.

Vijay Singh found that a hole in one is a great way to get into contention and his second 69 earned him a share of third place at six-under 138. He was joined there by Kenny Perry, who meandered to a 72, and Mark Brooks, who shot a 70.

Five shots off the pace are Lee Janzen and Nick Price, who would have been closer, but dropped three shots in the last six holes.

Meanwhile, Mickelson worked on enhancing his reputation. He already has won three times on the PGA Tour this year, but his resume has a hole in it. He hasn’t won a major title.

But the way things are going, it may be only a matter of time. The closest he came was last year’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills when he was in the hunt until he double-bogeyed the 16th hole on the last day and wound up fourth.

And now that he is only four years shy of that golden age of 30, Mickelson said he realizes that time may be slipping away.

“Jack Nicklaus knew that players are judged by how many majors they win and I think I’ve realized that,” Mickelson said. “It’s not a good attitude to say there’s always next year.

“I think that a player only has so many years throughout a career and there just are not that many opportunities in an individual’s career.”

After 36 holes, it’s pretty clear that this is one of them for Mickelson. In fact, since he never has led at the midway point of a major, it may be his best chance in his five-year career.

Mickelson’s eight tournament titles make him the youngest to have won so many since Nicklaus.

There are legions in the golf community who believe Mickelson is a major winner waiting to happen. Maybe Sunday will be his day, but there is a long way to go until then.

Actually, Mickelson had an unusually long path to follow Friday. He had to play 24 holes, including the last six to complete his first round that was interrupted by rain and halted because of darkness Thursday.

“It’s been a long day,” Mickelson said.

He certainly made the most of it. After making the turn at one under, he took a hayride through Valhalla on the back with four birdies. On the par-four 13th, he hit a three-iron and a wedge within a foot and made the putt. He birdied the par-three 14th with a 15-footer, then posted consecutive birdies at 17 and 18 with entirely different approaches.

He hit a seven-iron to 25 feet on the 17th, then got an up-and-down birdie on the par-five closing hole. His three-wood found the front bunker, but he knocked the ball out to four feet from the hole and made the putt.

He said there was only one way to look at a score that produced a 10-under total.

“Well, it was enjoyable,” Mickelson said.

That’s not a feeling Mickelson was experiencing after he tied for 94th at the U.S. Open and tied for 40th at the British Open. The problem was his putting, which was bad enough that Mickelson actually listened to some advice, although he stopped short of an actual lesson.

“I just wasn’t able to get the ball rolling on line,” he said. “It doesn’t bother me if I miss putts as long as I hit it and it rolled where I was intending it to go.”

But it didn’t, so his confidence started to go, even off the tee, where he hadn’t been having any problems.

Mickelson was told he was bringing the blade of the putter too far inside on his backswing. That’s all he needed to hear.

The best thing Leonard heard was the sound of the ball rattling around inside the hole on the second hole, which he eagled. Leonard, who was four under after four holes, also had to play the last 10 holes of his first round before starting over after a 10-minute break.

“I got in a rhythm,” he said.

He was surprised about that because he didn’t know what to expect after getting to the driving range at 6:30 a.m.

“That’s when you’re wondering, ‘OK, what is this going to be like now?’ ” said Leonard, who lost in a playoff to Mickelson at Phoenix this year, but got his first victory last week at the Buick Open. “I’m not a pretty good anything at 7:30 in the morning.”

Hours later, Leonard was good enough to close with birdie putts of 20 feet on the 17th and eight feet on the 18th.

Afterward, Leonard tipped his cap, signed his scorecard and looked for somewhere comfortable to sit down.

“I mean, you know, 28 holes, it’s a pretty grueling day,” he said.

Chances are, the next two will be pretty interesting.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

PGA Leaders

36-hole scores

*--*

Player Total * Phil Mickelson 67-67-134 * Justin Leonard 71-66-137 * Vijay Singh 69-69-138 * Kenny Perry 66-72-138 * Mark Brooks 68-70-138 * Lee Janzen 68-71-139 * Nick Price 68-71-139

*--*

10 tied at 140

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Leaders’ Scorecard / Second Round

*--*

HOLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 YARDS 425 515 199 355 460 415 605 165 415 PAR 4 5 3 4 4 4 5 3 4 Mickelson 4 4 3 4 5 4 5 3 3 Leonard 3 3 3 3 4 4 5 4 4

*--*

*--*

HOLE 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Total YARDS 565 165 470 350 208 410 460 432 540 7,144* PAR 5 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 5 36-36--72* Mickelson 5 3 4 3 2 4 4 3 4 35-32--67* Leonard 5 3 4 3 3 4 4 3 4 33-33--66*

*--*

* Represents 18 Hole Totals

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

36-HOLE SCORES

At Valhalla Country Club Louisville, Ky.--Par 72

Phil Mickelson: 67-67--134 -10

Justin Leonard: 71-66--137 -7

Vijay Singh: 69-69--138 -6

Kenny Perry: 66-72--138 -6

Mark Brooks: 68-70--138 -6

Lee Janzen: 68-71--139 -5

Nick Price: 68-71--139 -5

Greg Norman: 68-72--140 -4

Ian Woosnam: 68-72--140 -4

Tom Watson: 69-71--140 -4

David Edwards: 69-71--140 -4

Jesper Parnevik: 73-67--140 -4

Brad Faxon: 72-68--140 -4

Russ Cochran: 68-72--140 -4

Jim Furyk: 70-70--140 -4

Mike Brisky: 71-69--140 -4

Tommy Tolles: 69-71--140 -4

Frank Nobilo: 69-72--141 -3

Larry Mize: 71-70--141 -3

Wayne Grady: 74-67--141 -3

Scott McCarron: 69-72--141 -3

Steve Elkington: 67-74--141 -3

Mark O’Meara: 71-70--141 -3

Brian Watts: 70-71--141 -3

Ernie Els: 74-68--142 -2

Fred Couples: 74-68--142 -2

Fred Funk: 73-69--142 -2

Miguel Angel Jimenez: 71-71--142 -2

Nolan Henke: 72-70--142 -2

Tom Lehman: 71-71--142 -2

Bob Boyd: 71-71--142 -2

Neal Lancaster: 71-72--143 -1

John Adams: 72-71--143 -1

Jeff Maggert: 73-70--143 -1

John Morse: 74-69--143 -1

Jim Gallagher Jr.: 73-70--143 -1

Fuzzy Zoeller: 76-67--143 -1

Emlyn Aubrey: 69-74--143 -1

David Duval: 74-69--143 -1

Payne Stewart: 73-70--143 -1

Curtis Strange: 73-70--143 -1

Patrick Burke: 71-72--143 -1

Jay Haas: 72-71--143 -1

Rocco Mediate: 71-72--143 -1

Gil Morgan: 72-72--144 E

Paul Goydos: 71-73--144 E

Satoshi Higashi: 72-72--144 E

Billy Mayfair: 71-73--144 E

Woody Austin: 70-74--144 E

D.A. Weibring: 71-73--144 E

Mark Calcavecchia: 70-74--144 E

Costantino Rocca: 72-72--144 E

Lee Rinker: 73-71--144 E

John Cook: 69-75--144 E

Tim Herron: 71-73--144 E

Jeff Sluman: 72-72--144 E

Nick Faldo: 69-75--144 E

Scott Hoch: 72-72--144 E

Joel Edwards: 68-76--144 E

David Ogrin : 75-70--145 +1

Stu Ingraham: 73-72--145 +1

Michael Bradley: 73-72--145 +1

Marco Dawson: 76-69--145 +1

Howard Clark: 73-72--145 +1

Per-Ulrik Johansson: 73-72--145 +1

Tommy Nakajima: 73-72--145 +1

Paul Stankowski: 70-75--145 +1

Dan Forsman: 76-69--145 +1

Phil Blackmar: 71-74--145 +1

Glen Day: 72-73--145 +1

Mark Wiebe: 73-72--145 +1

Alexander Cejka: 71-74--145 +1

Steve Stricker: 73-72--145 +1

Bernhard Langer: 73-72--145 +1

Joey Sindelar: 73-72--145 +1

Corey Pavin: 71-74--145 +1

Paul Azinger: 70-75--145 +1

Willie Wood: 70-75--145 +1

Ben Crenshaw: 74-71--145 +1

Craig Parry: 72-73--145 +1

John Reeves: 74-71--145 +1

FAILED TO QUALIFY

John Daly: 72-74--146 +2

Brandel Chamblee: 74-72--146 +2

Mike Reid: 74-72--146 +2

Davis Love III: 73-73--146 +2

George Bowman: 72-74--146 +2

Jeffrey Roth: 69-77--146 +2

Bob Estes: 72-74--146 +2

Jack Nicklaus: 77-69--146 +2

Mark McNulty: 75-71--146 +2

Philip Walton: 70-76--146 +2

Mike Hulbert: 78-68--146 +2

Scott Simpson: 73-74--147 +3

Loren Roberts: 72-75--147 +3

Chris Tucker: 71-76--147 +3

John Huston: 72-75--147 +3

Brad Bryant: 74-73--147 +3

Tom Purtzer: 72-75--147 +3

Jay Don Blake: 74-73--147 +3

Doug Martin: 73-74--147 +3

Bill Israelson: 76-72--148 +4

Jim McGovern: 71-77--148 +4

Blaine McCallister: 74-74--148 +4

Colin Montgomerie: 71-77--148 +4

Bob Lohr: 75-73--148 +4

Billy Andrade: 75-73--148 +4

Mark James: 73-75--148 +4

Bob Tway: 75-73--148 +4

Tom Kite: 76-73--149 +5

Craig Stadler: 77-72--149 +5

Ted Tryba: 78-71--149 +5

John Wilson: 74-75--149 +5

Steve Lowery: 72-77--149 +5

Lennie Clements: 75-75--150 +6

Michael Burke Jr.: 76-74--150 +6

David Frost: 71-79--150 +6

Michael Campbell: 75-75--150 +6

Robert Allenby: 76-74--150 +6

Sam Torrance: 71-79--150 +6

Eric Booker: 78-72--150 +6

Perry Arthur: 74-77--151 +7

Lonnie Nielsen: 80-71--151 +7

Kirk Triplett: 72-79--151 +7

Grant Waite: 76-75--151 +7

Joe Ozaki: 75-76--151 +7

Steve Jones: 76-75--151 +7

Mark McCumber: 75-76--151 +7

Peter Senior: 76-76--152 +8

Walt Chapman: 77-75--152 +8

Steve Schneiter: 77-75--152 +8

Mike Taylor: 79-73--152 +8

Lanny Wadkins: 75-77-152 +8

Duffy Waldorf: 73-79--152 +8

Bob Ford: 78-75--153 +9

Robby Ware: 80-73--153 +9

Eddie Terasa: 74-79--153 +9

Greg Kraft: 78-75--153 +9

Jumbo Ozaki: 75-79--154 +10

Hal Sutton: 73-81--154 +10

John Bermel: 81-75--156 +12

Chris Anderson: 75-81--156 +12

Ron Philo Jr.: 78-78--156 +12

Ken Schall: 75-81--156 +12

Hubert Green: 79-77--156 +12

John DeForest: 78-79--157 +13

Michael Caporale: 82-78--160 +16

Dan Bateman: 81-83--164 +20

John Nelson: 82-85--167 +23

WITHDREW

Peter Jacobsen: 71

Larry Nelson: 73-72--145 +1

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

TODAY’S TEE TIMES

* 4:38 a.m.--John Reeves.

* 4:47 a.m.--Ben Crenshaw, Craig Parry.

* 4:56 a.m.--Paul Azinger, Willie Wood.

* 5:05 a.m.--Alexander Cejka, Steve Stricker.

* 5:14 a.m. Bernhard Langer, Joey Sindelar.

* 5:23 a.m.--Stu Ingraham, David Ogrin.

* 5:32 a.m.--Phil Blackmar, Mark Wiebe.

* 5:41 a.m.--Dan Forsman, Glen Day.

* 5:50 a.m.--Per-Ulrik Johansson, Tommy Nakajima.

* 5:59 a.m.--Howard Clark, Corey Pavin.

* 6:08 a.m.--Michael Bradley, Paul Stankowski.

* 6:26 a.m.--Joel Edwards, Marco Dawson.

* 6:35 a.m.--Jeff Sluman, Scott Hoch.

* 6:44 a.m.--Tim Herron, Nick Faldo.

* 6:53 a.m.--Gil Morgan, John Cook.

* 7:02 a.m.--Billy Mayfair, Lee Rinker.

* 7:11 a.m.--Paul Goydos, Woody Austin.

* 7:20 a.m.--D.A. Weibring, Costantino Rocca.

* 7:29 a.m.--Mark Calcavecchia, Satoshi Higashi

* 7:38 a.m.--Jay Haas, Rocco Mediate.

* 7:47 a.m.--Curtis Strange, Patrick Burke.

* 8:05 a.m.--Jim Gallagher Jr., John Adams.

* 8:14 a.m.--Jeff Maggert, John Morse.

* 8:23 a.m.--Payne Stewart, Neal Lancaster.

* 8:32 a.m.--Fuzzy Zoeller, Emlyn Aubrey.

* 8:41 a.m.--Bob Boyd, David Duval.

* 8:50 a.m.--Nolan Henke, Tom Lehman.

* 8:59 a.m.--Miguel Jimenez, Fred Funk.

* 9:08 a.m.--Fred Couples, Ernie Els.

* 9:17 a.m.--Mark O’Meara, Brian Watts.

* 9:26 a.m.--Wayne Grady, Scott McCarron.

* 9:35 a.m.--Frank Nobilo, Steve Elkington.

* 9:53 a.m.--Tommy Tolles, Larry Mize.

* 10:02 a.m.--Russ Cochran, Mike Brisky.

* 10:11 a.m.--Brad Faxon, Jim Furyk.

* 10:20 a.m.--David Edwards, Jesper Parnevik.

* 10:29 a.m.--Ian Woosnam, Tom Watson.

* 10:38 a.m.--Nick Price, Greg Norman.

* 10:47 a.m.--Mark Brooks, Lee Janzen.

* 10:56 a.m.--Kenny Perry, Vijay Singh.

* 11:05 a.m.--Phil Mickelson, Justin Leonard.

All times Pacific.