Masters notebook: Phil Mickelson back in the hunt at Augusta National

From WorldGolf.com News Services

Phil Mickelson put himself in prime position to capture a third green jacket Friday, carding a 4-under-par 68 in the second round of the Masters to enter the weekend tied for third place at 5-under 139.

Mickelson trails 36-hole leader Trevor Immelman by three strokes heading into Saturday's play. The two-time Masters champion sparked his bogey-free round with back-to-back birdies at Nos. 2 and 3.

"I seemed to put the ball in the spots where I was able to make some easy pars," Mickelson told reporters. "I … hit a lot of good shots to a spot that allowed me easy pars, not necessarily great birdie chances, but easy pars."

Mickelson said he kept a close watch on the leaderboard throughout his round.

"I'm always looking to see what the leaders are doing," Mickelson said. "You want to stay close. You don't want to make any big mistakes and get way out, but if you're falling behind, you've got to take a little bit more aggressive approach to some pins and try and make some birdies.

"I was fortunate where I was not too far back and I didn't have to make a lot of tough decisions."

Gone in 20 seconds

Despite bogeys at the fifth and seventh holes, Justin Rose was hanging on Friday — that's until he got to the par-5 15th hole. After laying up, Rose hit his wedge fat and watched it sail into Rae's Creek.

After taking a drop, Rose hit his fifth shot over the green before finally walking away with a triple bogey. Another bogey at No. 16 relegated the first-round leader to following up his 68 with a 78, falling into a tie for 29th place.

"A 20-second lapse in concentration," Rose told reporters when asked about his triple bogey. "In hindsight, I should have gone for the green, but it's one of those things.

"I laid up way too close to that green and the way they grow the grain into you, I had a bit of a tricky lie and no yardage at all. So that was hard, but that just proved I struggled with my concentration today."

Woods too far back?

Tiger Woods finally posted a round under par Friday at Augusta National, making a birdie on No. 17 and saving par at No. 18 to finish at 1-under 71. However, the world No. 1-ranked player heads into the weekend with some heavy lifting to do.

With 36 holes remaining, Woods is seven strokes off the pace in 13th place at 1-under 143. The largest deficit he's overcome in his professional career is six strokes, but Woods insisted that he's still in "good shape" with the threat of bad weather in the forecast for Saturday.

"Obviously, we've got some tougher conditions coming in and [I] just have to stay patient," Woods said in his post-round press conference. "This golf course, you can make up shots here quickly."

History isn't on Woods' side. He's never won a major championship without shooting in the 60s in at least one of the first two rounds.

Quick hitters

• Fred Couples' chance to own the record of most consecutive Masters cuts made came to an end when he missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Friday to miss the cut by one shot. Couples is tied with Gary Player for the longest streak of making cuts at Augusta with 23.

• Defending Masters champion Zach Johnson will be around for the weekend, but he has plenty of work to do to get back into the hunt. After shooting 76 Friday, Johnson is tied for 29th at 2-over 146 and is 10 strokes behind leader Trevor Immelman.

• A total of 45 golfers made the cut for the weekend, making this the smallest field since only 44 players competed in the last two rounds in 2004. None of the three amateur qualifiers made the cut, including Michael Thompson, who penalized himself a stroke at No. 15 when his ball moved ever so slightly as he addressed a birdie putt.

• Player, who set a new record by making his 51st Masters start on Thursday, said he plans to return to Augusta in 2009 after shooting a 6-over 78 in the second round.

April 12, 2008