McCarron leads BellSouth by one
Updated: April 5, 2005, 2:46 PM ET
Associated Press
DULUTH, Ga. -- Defending champion Phil Mickelson insisted he wasn't thinking about the Masters. Not yet, anyway.
Mickelson shot a 7-under 65 Sunday to move within a stroke of leader Scott McCarron in the rain-shortened 54-hole BellSouth Classic. Mickelson will drive to Augusta following Monday's final round.
"I thought about it last week and the week before when I was there scouting the course," Mickelson said. "But the fact that I went over early, I got all the work done that I needed to on the course. I was only going to play one practice round (in Augusta) on Tuesday, so going into Monday doesn't really affect me."
McCarron, the 1997 and 2001 winner at the TPC at Sugarloaf, shot his second straight 69 for a 6-under 138 total on the Greg Norman-designed course.
"I enjoy being able to play a competitive round closer to the start of the Masters," Mickelson said. "I love playing the week before a major and I love how this tournament has set up the course as close as Augusta as possible."
Mickelson, the No. 4 player in the world and the tour's leading money-winner, had the best round of the tournament as conditions improved with sun, temperatures in the low 60s and wind of 15-20 mph. His round was highlighted by a 26-yard pitch for eagle on the 310-yard, par-4 13th. He also had six birdies and a bogey.
Mickelson's round followed a 74 on Saturday in the opening round that was plagued by rain, sleet, snow and 40 mph wind. Rain washed out play Thursday and Friday, forcing PGA Tour officials to shorten the tournament to 54 holes and push the finish back to Monday.
Jose Maria Olazabal (69) and first-round co-leader Billy Mayfair (69) were tied with Mickelson at 5 under. Arron Oberholser (68), Tag Ridings (68), Brian Bateman (68),Joey Snyder III (69) and Rich Beem (70) were at 4 under.
Also at 4 under was Scott Dunlap, one of 29 players who was still on the course when darkness suspended play and had to finish Monday morning. Dunlap played three holes and finished with a 68.
The third round was scheduled for a 10:15 start with 75 players. The cut was at 2 over and notables failing to make it included Kenny Perry, who won two weeks ago at Bay Hill and Lee Jansen.
Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen (69) was 3 under in a group that included defending champion Zach Johnson (66).
Mickelson is one of the 19 players remaining in the field who will play in the Masters, scheduled to start Thursday. Six others withdrew from the field without hitting a shot, including Stuart Appleby and Chris DiMarco.
Mickelson practiced for 10 hours at Augusta on Tuesday.
McCarron, who has won only one other tournament away from this course, can't explain his success at this event, but did admit the first time he played it was with Norman, who gave him some tips.
"Oh, yes, lots of secrets that only I have. And we're going to keep it that way," said a laughing McCarron.
"It's a golf course that I really love," he said. "I look forward to coming here. Certainly winning twice, but I've missed the cut a few times here, too. I've played good and I've played not so good."
Olazabal had a 40 on the front, including a triple bogey on the 248-yard, par-3 eighth when he had a two-shot penalty. He shot a 29 on the back, including an eagle 2 on No. 13 when he chipped in from 15 yards and had three straight birdies to end his round.
The triple bogey came when he hit his tee shot into the right bunker. His second shot went outside the bunker, then trickled back in and was still rolling when his club hit the sand.
"The ball pitched outside the bunker and then came back in," Olazabal said. "By then, I already hit the sand with my club, so it was a two-stroke penalty."
The two-time Masters champion said he didn't slam his club down into the sand in frustration.
"Not really, I think more a reflex than anything else," Olazabal said. "Let's put it this way, the club fell from my hands."
Rain has affected eight of the 14 tournaments on tour so far this year.
Divots
The Golf Channel will televise the final round, beginning at 3 p.m. EDT. ... There were six withdrawals after the first round -- Paul Gow, Brett Wetterich, D.J. Trahan, Mark Brooks, Joakim Haeggman and Bill Glasson. ... In the opening round, there were only 24 rounds below par and the average score for the field was 74.189.
The Golf Channel will televise the final round, beginning at 3 p.m. EDT. ... There were six withdrawals after the first round -- Paul Gow, Brett Wetterich, D.J. Trahan, Mark Brooks, Joakim Haeggman and Bill Glasson. ... In the opening round, there were only 24 rounds below par and the average score for the field was 74.189.
Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press
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