Mickelson on a charge

Phil Mickelson, revelling it seemed in the fact that Tiger Woods was so far behind, charged into a commanding lead early on the second day of the USPGA championship at Baltusrol.

While Woods waited to begin a round which probably needed to be in the sixties to spare him his first missed cut in a major as a professional, Mickelson finished a dazzling back nine 31 with an 18-foot eagle putt.

Already the joint overnight leader when he resumed on three under, the superb nine-hole stretch took the left-hander, chasing the second major of his career, to eight under par.

And that was four strokes clear of Swede Jesper Parnevik and South African Rory Sabbatini, who led the chasing pack.

Amazingly, Mickelson was 13 shots clear of his great rival Woods, whose opening five over 75 represented his worst start to any major as a professional.

The world number one was not teeing off again until 1.30pm, but his short-lived Ryder Cup partner last September resumed at 8.05am and took full advantage of the perfect conditions.

It was another fiercely hot and sticky day, but there was no wind early on and the greens were not as spiked-up as they were likely to be for Woods later on.

Mickelson had to work hard for an opening par on the 460-yard 10th after finding rough, but that done he pitched to five feet on the next and came out of a fairway bunker to four feet for another birdie at the 424-yard 13th.

Playing partner Sergio Garcia holed his approach for an eagle two there but was playing catch-up after a first day 72 and catching Mickelson was proving no easy matter.

Last year’s Masters champion made a 12-foot on the 430-yard 14th – and that after driving into the rough again – and after failing to get up and down from a bunker at the short 16th played the two closing par fives in a magical seven strokes.

On the 650-yard 17th, the longest hole in major history, he missed another fairway but was able to hit wood for his second and then pitched to 15 feet.

At the 554-yard 18th his drive had a right-to-left fade on it again, but stayed out of trouble and when his eagle putt dropped a huge roar went up.

Parnevik, outside the world’s top 100 now and given a special invitation to the final major of the season, birdied the first and fourth to give his confidence a further boost.

Lee Westwood and Greg Owen, also two under overnight, did not make such a good start.

Westwood birdied the 14th, his fifth, but like Mickelson bogeyed the 16th, while Owen hit a horrid hook off the third tee, also bogeyed the 11th, but came back with a two on the 218-yard 12th to stand one under.

It did not take long for the picture to change again.

Mickelson ran up a double-bogey six on the 478-yard first and with Sabbatini making four on the long 18th the gap shrank to one.

Garcia had turned in 32 to be two under, but he bogeyed the first and dropped back alongside Owen on one under in joint 17th place. Westwood, level for the day and two under for the tournament after eight, was 11th.