Rd. 2 Recap: Mickelson chips into control at Colonial
By Associated Press and Melanie Hauser, PGA TOUR.COM Correspondent
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Phil Mickelson is carrying five different wedges in his bag at the Crowne Plaza Invitational. He's used every one of them -- very effectively.
Along with his putter.
Mickelson had 11 one-putts and converted all six sand saves in a 2-under 68 in the second round Friday to take the lead at 7-under 133. The world's No. 2-ranked player led Matt Kuchar (64), Brian Gay (65) and Johnson Wagner (71) by one stroke.
"It was probably the best putting round I've had all year," said Mickelson, who needed only 25 putts.
That's because Mickelson kept setting himself up with the short clubs. From the fairways, the rough and the bunkers.
Only four of his one-putts were 9 feet or longer (the longest was 18 feet). Three of those came at Nos. 3-5, the trio of holes known as Colonial's "horrible horseshoe" because of the difficulty and layout of that stretch, where he hit his approach into greenside bunkers each time and saved par. That was part of his final nine holes.
"Those putts kept the round going," Mickelson said. "When I got through those holes, I thought I could get a couple of birdies coming in. I had a couple of good chances."
Mickelson didn't lower his score after that, missing a 6-foot birdie on No. 7 before his short approach at No. 9 bounced over the hole and he slid an 8-footer just past. But the 2000 Colonial champion, here for the first time in three years, still stayed alone at the top of the leaderboard.
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SHOT OF THE DAY
Dustin Johnson. He aced the 171-yard 13th with an 8-iron, which got him to even-par at the time.. He made the cut (2-over) on the number, though, after bogeys on his last two holes.
• VIDEO: See the shot here 
ROUND OF THE DAY
Geoff Ogilvy's 64. If not for hitting two trees on the same hole, it could have been a 63. Took him from missing the cut to contention. And, oh, his putter's back. He birdied five consecutive holes in the middle of his round -- Nos. 17, 18, 1, 2, 3 -- and seven total.
• SCORECARD: Track Ogilvy hole-by-hole
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"It's a classic golf course and, as good as it is, it's very straightforward and right in front of you. It's the kind of place you can play one time, get your lines off the tees, know where to hit, what to hit and go from there. The tough part about this track is actually playing it.'' -- Johnson Wagner on Colonial Country Club
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OGILVY FINDS THE FEEL
It's a feel thing.
He can't explain it. He can't give you a visual. There is no translation.
But lord does it work.
One minute Geoff Ogilvy can't come within a foot of the hole. The next, he's making everything this side of Dallas. As in a 6-under 64 during the second round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Seven birdies, including five in a row.
"It's an intangible type of thing,'' Ogilvy explained. "It's impossible to describe my feel to someone else. You just go through all the things that you've used before until you find one that works.''
And it only took him -- what -- almost two months?
The former U.S. Open champion has been frustrated since the Masters when he started a cycle of hitting it great and putting poorly. He won the World Golf Championships-CA Championship, then finished tied for second at the Shell Houston Open. Then ... poof.
"The last month I'd been missing the hole by a foot from 12 feet,'' he said.
But in Miami? He putted perfectly for the first two rounds and okay the rest of the way. Houston was good, too. And somehow between Thursday night and Friday morning, he found the groove again.
"If I putted like today for the rest of my life I'd be very content,'' he said. "Even the ones I missed were going near the hole.''
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MORE FROM LEFTY
It was the best putting round he had all year.
Not much scoring on his front nine -- actually the back since he started on the 10th. A birdie on the first. Testers on the third, fourth and fifth -- can you say Horrible Horseshoe? -- that kept Phil Mickelson's round going.
"And the putts that I missed, I started them all on line and they were rolling and caught some of the lips,'' Mickelson said, "so I felt it was a good a putting round as I've had all year.''
Mickelson, the 2000 Colonial champ, was six-for-six out of bunkers Friday. And his short-game period is being tested by the course.
The rough, in fact, is so tough that he flubbed a chip on the 14th. Mickelson. The man who is carrying five wedges in his bag. The master of the chip and flop shot.
"The lie didn't look that bad, I went into get it and it just came out flat,'' he said. "Sometimes it's hard to decipher how they'll come out.''
He bogeyed that hole -- one of two bogeys on the day. And the putts on the front? He called them decent -- 8-10 feet. "Those are the putts I hadn't been making earlier in the year and now they're tracking,'' he said.
Mickelson may have the lead, but he knows it's hardly safe. In 2000, he came from behind to win.
"I remember at one point, I was 10 back and I was 6 back going into the back nine and I won it without a playoff,'' he said.
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TURNING THE CORNER?
Matt Kuchar didn't think it would take this long. No one did.
Yet here he is, almost 30 and he's only won once on the PGA TOUR -- the 2002 Honda Classic. It's been a struggle for the one-time golden boy from Georgia Tech, but he may have turned the corner when the turned to Dallas-area (Plano) pro Chris O'Connell, a Jim Hardy disciple, two years ago.
'It's been a really great fit for me,'' said Kuchar. " . . . I feel like it matches what I came with very well. I feel like, even on off days, I can get the ball around pretty well.''
| 2 | The 36-hole cut was at 2-over par. A total of 80 players made the cut. |
| 4 | Number of birdies Matt Kuchar had to start his round – Nos. 10, 11, 12 and 13. |
| 5 | A two-fer. Number of wedges Phil Mickelson carried in his bag Friday and the number of consecutive birdie putts Geoff Ogilvy made mid-round (Nos. 17, 18, 1, 2, 3) |
| 6 | Phil Mickelson was six-for-six in sand saves. |
| 15 | Number of cuts Justin Leonard has made at Colonial. He has never missed a cut and is two behind Gary Player’s record of 17. |
| 81 | In fahrenheit degrees, the temperature inside the press room at 6 p.m. CT |
| 100 | The heat-humidity factor at the end of round 2. (Real temperature, 93). |
| 150 | The number of gallons of diesel Johnson Wagner's RV holds. Do the math. It usually takes him $400-$450 to fill up. |
| 1,200 | The number of miles Wagner can drive on a tank. |
Former Georgia Tech teammate Matt Weibring -- D.A's son -- suggested O'Connell, but even then, Kuchar wasn't sold.
"I had seen Jim Hardy guys,'' he said. "They all have a warm-up practice swing that I think looks just awful. I said, 'I don't know if I can do that.' It looks not like golf to me.''
One is a funny elbow manuever. Another is over the top. "It looks like you're going to smash something,'' Kuchar said. "Their normal swing looks nothing like it. It's something that always scared me.''
So, Kuchar took that off the table and O'Connell almost never brings out the video camera. Nor does he try for crazy drills. Just basic swing.
Kuchar has two top-seven finishes this year -- a T3 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun and a T7 at Verizon Heritage. And now, he's one-back going into the weekend at Colonial.
"I definitely don't feel like a veteran. I still feel somewhat like a rookie. I still really enjoy being out here. It seems like golf changes so much that it still seems fresh and new to me going into tournaments. . .. Each week I still have adrenalin.''
And he's fallen into that 10-year learning curve, which means he's more comfortable. Especially on a tight course like Colonial. Which reminded him of 1998 when he played in the Masters as an amateur and Georgia Tech coach Bruce Heppler gave him a "pep" talk.
"He said, 'Now, Matt, you want to go into this with or without much expectation. The Masters takes guys years and year to learn Augusta National. Go have a good time. Don't expect a whole lot. Your game is better suited for a U.S. Open.' '' Kuchar recalled.
"It probably wasn't the greatest pep talk, but, you know, him saying that my game was better suited for the U.S. Open? I'd probably agree with him.''
Kuchar, who missed the cut here last year in his first appearance, birdied the first four holes of his day -- 10, 11, 12 and 13 -- to jumpstart his day. The birdie at the 10th was from 20 feet; the 12th and 13th from 30 feet.
"It's awfully fun to see the ball fall in the hole,'' he said. "I think any time you shoot 6-under-par, you've made some good putts.''
TEXAS TIDBITS
• In an attempt to tell readers the difference between Joe Ogilvie and Geoff Ogilvy, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram compared them in 17 different categories.
Among the most interesting?
Ironies: Ogilvie idolizes Bill Gates, but owns a Mac; Ogilvy disagrees with President George W. Bush's foreign policy, but was invited to a 2006 White House state dinner.
Non-golf competitive outlets: Ogilvie, stock market: Ogilvy, Aussie rules football.
Off-course business: Ogilvie, Ogilvie Capital, an investment advisory firm; Ogilvy, Mojo Pies (meat-filled pies popular in Australia)
• Stephen Ames didn't have it and couldn't find it. His swing was sporadic and he had fallen back to 1-under for the tournament. Then boom.
"A lot of mishaps, missed shots, but I scrambled well,'' Ames said of his first six holes (he started on 10). "But my sixth hole (15), I found out what was I was doing wrong with my golf swing . . . I was able to fix the fundamental think that was wrong with it.''
Which was?
"I just get a little out of whack,'' he said. "I got to sync the arms, the body is still turning. Then I get out of sync coming down to hit the ball.''
Once he made the fix, he birdied five of the next 10 holes. He bogeyed the ninth -- his final hole) to finish at 5-under.
• Johnson Wagner played solid. He was consistent. And he's one-back going into the weekend.
But happy with a second-round 71?
"I'm not real happy with it, but it's over,'' he said. "I definitely could have played a lot better today. I didn't hit as many fairways, have as good a look at birdies. But I'll take being one back going into the weekend every week.''
What he didn't like?
"I saw (Phil) Mickelson post 7 (under) and all day I kept thinking about, I got to separate myself,'' Wagner said. "Thoughts like that probably weren't the best things to be thinking. Probably something I should have learned a long time ago. But with two rounds to go, still learn from my mistakes today.''
• When asked about possible drug testing at the Ryder Cup, Phil Mickelson just nodded. "It's going to happen. Whether it's the Ryder Cup or PGA TOUR, it's coming. It's just part of sport now. It's something we need to accept. I've always thought golf was a clean sport. This is a way to reaffirm it."
• For more notes, click here
THREE THINGS TO WATCH SATURDAY
1. Phil Mickelson. Can the No. 2 player in the world get some separation on this course?
2. Geoff Ogilvy. He's found his putting touch and he, too, is pointing toward Torrey Pines. He's only three back with 36 to play.
3. The temperature. The forecast calls for 95 which means it'll feel like 100-plus when the leaders tee off. Some like it hot, some don't.
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