Heavyweight duo go head to head in Florida

Twelve months on from their terrific last round duel Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson looked on collision course again today when they returned to the Ford Championship at Doral in Florida.

Teeing off at the same time, but on opposite sides of the Blue Monster course, America’s two great golfing rivals had 15 birdies between them.

Woods, who came from five behind last year, came in with an eight under par 64 just after Mickelson had completed a 65.

They stood first and second, but the day’s play was not over and out on the course Hank Kuehne and Mark Wilson were also seven under with two and three holes to go respectively.

Not even finding the lake with his second shot to the long 10th could stop defending champion Woods in his tracks.

The world number one, who closed with rounds of 63 and 66 to pip Mickelson by one, escaped from the hole with a par, then birdied five of the next six – a run which included chipping in at the short 15th.

Mickelson, meanwhile, played the back nine first in 32, then picked up further shots on the first, fifth and sixth to join Colombian rookie Camilo Villegas, Rich Beem and Ryan Palmer on the seven under mark in the clubhouse.

“Anytime you get receptive and smooth greens and no wind, the guys are going to go low,” Woods said.

“I hit the ball well, hit a lot of good shots, and it’s always nice to get back on smooth greens again.

“I played like this at La Costa (at last week’s Match Play Championship). The only difference is today I made putts.”

“Tiger seems to play well every day, every week,” Mickelson said. “I’m just trying to keep pace, to maybe have another shot at duelling it out with him on Sunday.”

Earlier, Pádraig Harrington holed out from a bunker with his last shot of the day to begin with a four under 68.

The Dubliner, who reached the quarter-finals of the Accenture world match play championship last week despite struggling with his game, made up for three-putting the short fourth from only 18 feet with five birdies.

Harrington was playing with world number two Vijay Singh and last week’s runner-up Davis Love and they all shone. Love also returned a 68, while Singh finished birdie-eagle-birdie for a 67.

David Howell, Europe’s other quarter-finalist in San Diego, stood five under par with five to play, but bogeyed the 14th after driving into a fairway bunker and dropped another shot on the last after finding the left-hand rough.

Mansfield’s Greg Owen came in with a two under 70 and Nick Faldo, playing his first tournament in the States since the Masters last April, would have matched that but for bogeys at two of the last three holes.

Faldo still finished ahead of Justin Rose and Northern Ireland pair Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke. McDowell finished bogey-double bogey for a 73, the same as Rose, while Clarke slumped to a 75 and then withdrew from the event citing a wrist injury.

The Ryder Cup star, who abandoned plans to play the Nissan Open in Los Angeles two weeks ago because his wife Heather was undergoing more treatment for cancer, had two birdies in his last five holes of the day, but also two bogeys and a double bogey.

Ernie Els could do no better than a 72, while Swede Daniel Chopra was the leading European following a 66. Brian Davis was one over with two left.