8:39 am Mickelson grabs share of Northern lead
LOS ANGELES (AP) — One shot clipped an ash tree and kept Phil Mickelson out of worse trouble than he was in. Another landed behind a Bottle Brush, blocking his path to the 10th green at Riviera. On yet another hole, Mickelson had to thread a 9-iron through the limbs of five eucalyptus trees.
So when he walked into the gallery to find his tee shot on the 15th hole and saw a man flat on his back, Mickelson assumed the worst.
“It wouldn’t be the first time, so I thought for sure I took him out,” Mickelson said Saturday.
Instead, the spectator was being still because the ball was inside the hem of his shorts.
Despite all these adventures, Mickelson managed a 1-under 70 on Saturday to share the lead with PGA champion Keegan Bradley in the Northern Trust Open.
On a day when “routine par” was not part of his vocabulary, Phil was thrilled.
“This was a great round for me because I did not play well, and I shot 1-under par and I’m atop the leaderboard,” Mickelson said. “Usually when I win, I’ll have two good rounds and I’ll have two rounds that aren’t so great that I’ve got to keep somewhere in it to give myself a chance.”
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