Mickelson in driving seat after 65

AS temperatures soared to almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit at Baltusrol yesterday, Phil Mickelson was back in his comfortable, air-conditioned room with his feet up and a satisfied smile on his face.

Having declared on Thursday that he “would not shed a tear” for Tiger Woods after he opened the US PGA Championship with a 75, the great left-hander would have been aware the gap between himself and his golfing nemesis was widening still further, and that Woods’ sole preoccupation was in avoiding a missed cut for the first time in his 37 appearances as a professional in major championships.

The margin was a massive fourteen shots when the 2/1 pre-championship favourite plunged his tee shot into the lake guarding the front of the superb par three 4th hole and had to sink a ten footer to avoid a double bogey.

Typically and admirably, however, Woods fought like a terrier and was one outside the projected mark of four over when he picked up his fourth birdie of the day with a two at the 12th, offsetting four previous bogeys, including three from the 2nd.

It was an afternoon of blistering heat, humidity, and high drama with most eyes on Woods until, at 2.30pm, as he was playing the 4th hole, the branch of a nearby tree came crashing down and injured three people, one of whom broke his left femur.

Tiger’s battle with the cut was put aside as he did the right thing and made sure the victims would be all right before proceeding.

Mickelson had earlier produced a round 65 to jump into the lead on eight under par and leave him perfectly poised to capture his second major championship.

He shot six birdies, an eagle at 18, where he hit a four iron of 222 yards to twenty feet, and ran up three bogeys for good measure. Above all, he enjoyed every minute of his New Jersey romp. The New York crowd took him to their hearts during the US Open at Bethpage, when he eventually lost out to Woods. It seemed many of them had crossed the state line to lend him their support once again.

“I love the feel that the people here provide. I love coming out and playing in front of them. It is just an amazing feeling from a player’s point of view to have this support. It’s awesome. Heading into this week, I felt very confident that I was getting some good work done and came into the tournament with a lot more confidence.

“What I was most proud about today is that when I made mistakes, I was able to bounce back quickly. After I made double on the first (his 10th), I was able to be patient and let it go and came back with birdies on 3 and 5. When I bogeyed 6, I again was able to let it go and come back with a birdie on 8.”

Mickelson insisted he didn’t feel written off by the press after his failure in each of the last six majors: “My only focus right now is that this is the last major championship of the year and I want to put everything into this one event.

“Fortunately, I’ve played well the first two days but there’s a lot of golf left. I won’t plan on playing the course any different being ahead than I would if I were behind. You have to take what the course gives you. There are holes where you can be aggressive and I’ll try to make birdies.

“And if there are some where the pins are tucked and the greens are firm, I’ll play for par. It’s not as though I’m trying to play conservatively or run away, I’m just trying to take what the course gives me.”

With Mickelson so dominant, it was always going to be difficult for the rest to stay in touch, so South African Rory Sabbatini, a re-energised Davis Love III, and England’s Lee Westwood had good reason to be happy with the way they coped. Westwood at times produced shots that were out of this world - like the drive of 351 yards that split the 18th fairway and left playing partner Retief Goosen in his wake.

Westwood, now 32, has figured prominently in major championships over the past seven years and has the experience to maintain his challenge through the weekend, something he failed to do in the US Open at Pinehurst in June. Whether that setback will stand to him or act as a negative remains to be seen but he stands out as Europe’s best hope for the PGA title since Tommy Armour back in 1930.

Sergio Garcia finds himself ten off the pace on two over and would need to find a lot more inspiration through the weekend than was apparent for much of the time yesterday.

Greg Owen has been one of the revelations of the year so far and with Irishman JP Fitzgerald on his bag, has given every indication of how comfortable he feels on the US Tour. He has won $1.2 million in his rookie season, all the more remarkable after his back surgery 12 months ago.

He stands three under par in a group that also contains the always dangerous Vijay Singh.