NORTHERN TRUST OPEN: Phil Mickelson could not extend his overnight lead as he set a target of six under par at the end of his second round at the Northern Trust Open in Pacific Palisades, California.
Mickelson carded a five-under 66 in his first round to lead by one from fellow Americans JB Holmes and Hunter Mahan and, though he could not match that, a one-under 70 was enough for him to keep his nose in front midway through day two.
It would have been worse but for an eagle at the eighth – his 17th after starting at the 10th – as until then he had mixed two birdies with a couple of bogeys.
And another bogey on his final hole meant his nearest challenger, Sweden’s Carl Pettersson, was only one stroke behind. Holmes and Mahan, meanwhile, both endured difficult mornings.
While Pettersson was two under through 16 to sit five under overall, Holmes was two over for his round to sit two under overall, while Mahan was back at level par after going four over yesterday , the low point a double bogey at the par-five 11th.
America’s Jimmy Walker joined Pettersson at four under after a 66, with Matt Kuchar alongside him thanks to a second straight 69. England’s Luke Donald and Justin Rose, one under overnight, were among the later starters, while Pádraig Harrington shot a second round of 70 for a two-over total, with the cut projected to be on that mark. Sergio Garcia was three over in total after six bogeys in a five-over round of 76.
* EUROPEAN TOUR: Scotland’s Peter Whiteford might never have a better opportunity to land his first European Tour title than he does this weekend. The 31-year-old is 10 under par midway through the Avantha Masters in New Delhi and leads by two from Thai golfer Prom Meesawat.
In an event which does not feature any of the world’s top 60, the 236th-ranked Whiteford added an eventful 68 to his opening 66.
His round included an eagle and five birdies, but also three bogeys – two of them during “freezing cold” conditions just after he teed off at 7.25am.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had two good rounds in a row,” said Whiteford, whose previous best finish on the circuit was runner-up in the 2010 Andalucian Open. “It was a lot harder first thing. The ball wasn’t going anywhere at that time in the morning and I had a bit of a sticky patch, but then had a decent back nine.”
Former world junior champion Meesawat birdied five of the last six holes for a best-of-the-week 64. The last of them, on the long 18th, took him a stroke ahead of compatriots Chapchai Nirat and Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Australian Kieran Pratt and France’s Jean-Baptiste Gonnet.
Scotland’s former US Amateur champion Richie Ramsay missed the cut by one on one over after missing from two feet on the last.
Joint first-round leader Alejandro Canizares managed only a 73 and is five back, part of a group which also includes Paul McGinley, Scot Marc Warren, England’s Jamie Moul and Wales’ Rhys Davies.
American John Daly withdrew after his first-round 79 and posted a picture on Twitter of his right arm bandaged up. He said he had injured his elbow on the ninth hole.
* LPGA TOUR: Karrie Webb held a two-shot lead at 10-under-par when second-round play at the Honda LPGA Thailand was suspended due to lightning.
Webb, who has four holes remaining, was six-under-par in her round yesterday which featured five birdies, one bogey and a hole-in-one on the par 3 12th hole.
Sitting two shots back of Webb at 8-under-par when play was halted are Jiyai Shin and Amy Yang. Shin fired an 8-under-par 66 while Yang was 4-under on her round through 14 holes.
* LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR: Home hopefuls Emily Perry and Lynnette Brooky, England’s Kym Laratt and Frenchwoman Joanna Klatten shared a four-way lead after the first round of the ISPS Handa New Zealand Women’s Open in Christchurch.
The quartet topped a packed leaderboard after shooting five-under par rounds of 67.
Nine players were a stroke further back, including Southampton’s Elizabeth Bennett, while much-talked-about 14-year-old amateur Lydia Ko shot a 69.
The teenage New Zealander attracted large galleries but she ended up playing second fiddle to her fellow amateur Perry, who defied windy conditions late on to share the lead.
* GUI: The agm of the Golfing Union of Ireland took place yesterday at Carton House and Fintan Buckley (Hermitage) was elected as the 64th president of the union. Buckley previously served as secretary, treasurer and chairman of the Leinster Branch.
