Padraig Harrington and Phil Mickelson share the lead at 11 under par after the second round of the Nissan Open in California.
Dubliner Harrington, the first-round leader, shot a three-under-par 68. Mickelson, who last played Riviera Country Club in 2001, shot the low round of the day with a 65, which included an eagle on the 17th.
Charles Howell, who finished second at this event in 2003, also had a 65 and is at eight under for two days, three strokes behind the leaders.
Pat Perez, Sergio Garcia and David Howell are tied for fourth at seven under.
It appeared Harrington would have a two-stroke lead going into today's third round when Mickelson failed to get up and down from a bunker on the par-three 16th. Mickelson though made a 14-foot eagle putt on the following hole to rein Harrington in.
"I would have thought there might be more guys up there," Harrington said. "It is a tough golf course though."
It is the first time Harrington has played this event and so far has taken a liking to the famed course.
"I'm happy enough," Harrington said. "It's a big tough ask to follow up a good round. Anything in the 60s was the goal."
Talking about his 17th-hole eagle, Mickelson said: "I had about 287 (yards) to the hole, but only about 260 to the front. So I figured if I could get a good three-wood and land it on the green, the greens have been pretty firm, so it could hit and roll back there. I just flushed it, a nice high three-wood that landed on the green and rolled up there about 15 feet and I was able to make that for eagle."
Mickelson, who hasn't played this event since 2001, is also being won over by Riviera.
"It's a good start, these first two rounds," he said. "One of the best players in the world, Padraig Harrington is right there at 11 under and we have a very strong field, a lot of guys five, six, seven under par. So it's going to be a very tough weekend."
The 16th hole had two memorable moments during the round. The first was when Retief Goosen had a hole-in-one at the 165-yard hole using a seven-iron. The eagle actually helped the South African make the cut. He finished at one under par for two days with the cut set at one over.
The second incident was much stranger. England's Ian Poulter had a four-foot putt for birdie and missed it. For his two-foot comeback par putt, Poulter faced away from the hole and struck the putt with his putter between his legs. He missed that putt as well and tapped in for a bogey.
Paul McGinley is the only other Irishman in the field. The Dubliner sits one under par for the tournament (10 shots off the lead) after carding a second round 71. PA
