Woods and Mickelson make slow progress

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, playing together yet again, remained deep in the pack after the early stages of their WGC-Cadillac Championship third round in Miami today.

America's two superstar golfers reached halfway on level-par, nine adrift of their Ryder Cup team-mate Hunter Mahan and down in 34th place in the 66-strong field.

Both birdied the long first, but Mickelson gave the shot back three holes later and after six they remained one under and level par respectively.

Graeme McDowell and Lee Westwood also opened with birdies to improve to two-under and one-under respectively.

Mahan led by a shot from world number one Martin Kaymer, who beat him at the WGC-Accenture Match Play two weeks ago, and Italian Francesco Molinari.

Woods found his second birdie from six feet at the seventh, but it was Mickelson who produced the sparkling finish to the outward half.

The left-hander sank a bunker shot on the seventh, chipped close at the par-five eighth and then made it three birdies in a row on the short ninth.

Out in 33 he was up to 21st, while Woods turned in 34 to lie 27th on two-under.

Going best of all the early starters, though, was Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, whose five birdies in the first seven saw him move all the way to joint 11th on five-under.