Four tied for lead in Palmer
Ernie Els was like so many others Friday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Fla. He was tied for the lead - and not quite sure how he got there.
He's not alone.
Davis Love III didn't make a par until his 10th hole. He had 6 bogeys and still wound up with a share of the 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour for the first time in seven years.
Els was 3 feet from being under water and out of the hunt until he salvaged an unlikely par, spurring him to 4 birdies in a five-hole stretch and in great shape going into the weekend. Ben Curtis bogeyed his first two holes and shot his best round of the year.
One shot out of the lead was Phil Mickelson, who hit two balls in the water off the tee and one ball in the hole from the fairway.
"It's been kind of weird, but a little surprised that I'm in the lead," Els said after his 3-under 69. "But you know, we're there. It should be an interesting weekend, and obviously looking forward to it."
Love had 7 birdies, 2 of those when he holed out a chip and a bunker shot, and settled for a 71. Curtis shot 31 on the back nine on his way to a 67, while D.J. Trahan had a 68.
They were at 7-under 137, 1 shot ahead of Mickelson (67), Retief Goosen (67) and Kevin Na (70).
Mickelson is starting to find his putting stroke at just the right time. The evidence came not so much from the round he shot at Bay Hill that put him into the thick of contention for the first time this year but from a casual round earlier this week in the California desert.
He shot a 58, the lowest score of his life.
"How did you hear about that?" Mickelson said, unaware either that good news travels fast or that he had mentioned it moments earlier in an interview with British-based Sky Sport.
He made 12 birdies and an eagle at The Plantation Golf Club in Indio, Calif., which Fred Couples helped design. Mickelson went there because the greens are similar to Bay Hill.
"I ended up getting the putter going there, as well, and shot 58, yeah," Mickelson said. "That was fun."
Kia Classic: Hee Kyung Seo, playing on a sponsor's exemption, shot a 5-under-67 to take the lead while Michelle Wie also shot a 67 to pull into contention after two rounds in the inaugural Kia Classic at La Costa in Carlsbad, Calif.
The 23-year-old Seo, a South Korean playing in her sixth LPGA tournament, won 11 times on the KLPGA Tour the last two years. She had a 7-under 137 total.
South Korea's In-Kyung Kim (69) was a stroke back, and Wie, Vicky Hurst (68), Song-Hee Kim (68) and Seon Hwa Lee (71) were 5 under. Wie, trying for her second win as a professional, had 6 birdies and a bogey.
Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa had 4 bogeys and a double bogey in shooting a 75 that left her 8 shots back.
Cap Cana Championship: Nick Price and Chip Beck shot 6-under 66s to share the first-round lead in the Cap Cana Championship in the Dominican Republic, leaving Fred Couples a stroke back in his bid for his third straight Champions Tour title.
Andalucia Open: South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen and England's Sam Hutsby shot 7-under 63s to share the second-round lead in the Andalucia Open at Malaga, Spain.
England's Paul Waring shot a course-record 62 to finish at 4 under.