Mickelson wields hot putter to grab lead

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina: Phil Mickelson putted superbly to shoot a 5-under 67 on Friday and take a two-stroke lead going into weekend play at the Wells Fargo Championship.
Mickelson opened with a pair of 15-foot birdie putts, dropped in a 40-foot putt at the turn and made back-to-back birdies late in his round to reach the top of the leaderboard.
Quail Hollow, renowned for pristine conditions, has unusually difficult greens this year after a dry spring requiring some sod replacement but Mickelson has taken only 50 putts in two rounds. And the most staggering statistic of all? He hasn't missed from inside 10 feet.
“With them being slower, we're able to putt them aggressively,” Mickelson said. “We're able to take some of the break out without fear of racing it way by. And I've made a concerted effort to leave uphill putts, which has allowed me to putt even more aggressive and play even less break. And that's made a big difference in my putting.”
For a tournament that already has had six major champions win in the 10-year history, Mickelson is missing from the list. He was at 9-under 135 heading into the weekend, though there is plenty of star power around him.
Nick Watney played with Mickelson the opening two rounds and looks efficient, going bogey-free on the back nine. He had a 70 and was at 7-under 137, along with George McNeill (68) and Australia's Scott Gardiner, the 37-year-old tour rookie who had missed eight straight cuts coming into the Quail Hollow. Gardiner ran off four straight birdies at the turn and had a 67.
Rory McIlroy struggled with the speed of the greens — he felt they were much faster than Thursday — but rallied on the front nine with three birdies for a 71. Lee Westwood twice hit into the water on the par-5 seventh and still escaped with a bogey by making a 25-foot putt. He had a 68. They were in a group at 6-under 138 that included Rod Pampling, the ninth alternate and last man in the field.
Sergio Garcia twice made news for his work on the greens. Firstly, he used his wedge to knock in a 5-footer on the third hole, avoiding some scraping on the green.
“The only way I could make this putt was to get lucky,” said Garcia. The prudent move was to hit a wedge, chip it just over the rough turf, and he pulled it off beautifully.
Garcia didn't sign for his 68 — he was five shots behind — until talking to rules officials and going over the videotape. A TV viewer said it appeared Garcia did not replace his ball in the same spot where he marked it on the 17th. Garcia, demonstrating later for reporters, said he slid the coin to the side of the ball, and turned his hand around when he replaced the ball so he wouldn't brush the coin. He said it appeared his ball was a fraction of an inch away from the original spot.
PGA Tour rules officials signed off on it, and Garcia said they even called the USGA to confirm.
“I said, 'If you guys feel like I gained something by moving it — I don't know how much, like a centimeter or couple centimeters, whatever it is — I'm fine with the two-stroke penalty. I'd rather take the two- stroke penalty than come out here like I was a cheater,'” Garcia said. “They felt that wasn't the case. I told them exactly what I did, and they felt it was fine.” Garcia also said he hurt his back on a tee shot at the 10th and would get treatment on it, uncertain he would play depending on how it felt Saturday.
Saturday will be busier than expected. A couple of late bogeys and one double bogey dropped the cut to 2-over 146, allowing more than a dozen players back into the tournament. That means there will be another cut on Saturday.
Through it all, there was plenty of aggravation. Bubba Watson opened with a three-putt from 10 feet, added a four-putt from about 65 feet on the 12th hole, and had another three-putt from 15 feet.
But it was like that for everyone, which is why McNeill had a peculiar answer when asked what the winner had to do well this weekend. “It's the guy who keeps control of his emotions the best,” McNeill said. “The greens will have an effect on you. You've just got to keep positive. You're going to have good putts that miss, and you might have some bad putts that go in.”