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| Third round: Clash of the titansAug. 3, 2008
 Getty Images Three of the world's best golfers lead into the final round in Ohio. AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- Phil Mickelson has won 35 times around the world, starting with a PGA TOUR event when he was still in college. His collection includes three major championships, and he is solidly entrenched at No. 2 in the world rankings.  RELATED LINKS
That must make him the best player to have never won a World Golf Championships. Mickelson got a chuckle out of the playful suggestion after making a mid-round adjustment Saturday at the Bridgestone Invitational that led to three straight birdies and a 2-under 68, giving him a share of the lead with Vijay Singh and Lee Westwood. It's not quite the same burden as "best to have never won a major," the label he shed in 2004 at the Masters. Even so, he has never had this good an opportunity to win a World Golf Championships. "They started midway through my career, so I haven't given them the priority like I do a major, or care about like a major," said Mickelson, who has skipped four of the World Golf Championships held overseas. "But they are always the best fields in the game, they're always on great golf courses, they're always on tough tests. So I think there's a lot of merit to whoever wins those." Tiger Woods has won 15 of them, including six at Firestone. The leaders through 54 holes have a combined 116 victories around the world, and all of them will be going for their first world title. Singh missed two putts inside 3 feet, but he holed two straight birdies from 12 feet to keep pace with Mickelson and wound up with a 69. The big Fijian will be in the final group with Westwood, who was far more conventional. The 35-year-old from England said he drove as well as he can remember, missing only two fairways, and wound up with a 67. They all were at 8-under 202 -- three players from three parts of the world, giving this a truly global appeal. Not to be forgotten was Stuart Appleby of Australia, the only player to compete in all 29 of these events since they began in 1999. • To read the remainder of this story, click here.
A FOUR-MAN BATTLE? MICKELSON THINKS SO AKRON, Ohio -- Phil Mickelson doesn't plan to look back. He doesn't expect Lee Westwood or Vijay Singh or Stuart Appleby to look back, either.  Mickelson So unless you're one of the four men in the last two groups during Sunday's final round of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, Mickelson doesn't give you much chance to win the Gary Player Cup. Why not? Well, Mickelson and Singh are the only two players who have shot all three rounds in the 60s this week. The left-hander's 68 and Singh's 69 Saturday left them in a tie with Westwood at 8 under as each chases his first World Golf Championships title and the $1.35 million first prize. And Appleby finds himself in the penultimate group with Mickelson despite playing his first nine holes in 5 over. His recovery and striking ascent up the leaderboard shows the Aussie is playing well at the right time, too. The way the four have separated themselves from the rest of the star-studded pack certainly doesn't bode well for players like Retief Goosen, who is alone in fifth, three strokes off the pace. Ditto for Darren Clarke, Chris DiMarco, D.J. Trahan, Rory Sabbatini and Miguel Angel Jimenez who are another stroke back at 4 under. "Even though normally you would say four shots, you're right in it, I think it's going to take a 6- or 7-under par round from one of those guys to catch all four of us, because all four of us are playing well," Mickelson said. • To read the remainder of this story, click here.
CLARKE SNAPS OUT OF SLUMP, FIRES 65 IN THIRD ROUND AKRON, Ohio -- Darren Clarke needed an attitude adjustment. And no, not the kind the Northern Irishman would find in his local pub, either.  Clarke But Clarke dearly wants to make the European Ryder Cup team for the sixth straight time. Trouble is, he's a distant 25th on the World Points list and 33rd on the Ryder Cup Points List -- when only the top five on each automatically make the team. He wasn't going to get the job done by missing cuts, though, and that's exactly what Clarke had done in his last three starts across the pond. So he came to Firestone Country Club to play in the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational with a different approach in mind. "I think all summer long and probably the past three, four months I've pushed and pushed and pushed and tried too hard and practiced too hard and worked too hard," he said. "I've wanted to play too well too much, whereas now I'm sort of filled out a little bit and just play and enjoy it and see what that brings. "I'm sure you've heard guys say before, if you try too hard sometimes it goes the opposite way, and that's what I've been doing. I've been desperate to play really well, and I couldn't quite do it." Desperate no more, Clarke fired a 65 on Saturday to move 4 under and into contention at the final World Golf Championships event of 2008. He made seven birdies and two bogeys, the last coming when he missed the green on the final hole, or he would have been even closer to the lead. "I actually didn't quite play so well, especially on the back nine, struggled a little bit," Clarke admitted. "But I hit it close enough and knocked a few putts in. Not big long things or anything, but just holed a few. I like this place, I've played well here before, so pretty enjoyable." Well, indeed. Clarke won the tournament in 2003, shooting a final round 67 to edge Jonathan Kaye by a shot. The Ulsterman also won the 2000 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship and joins Geoff Ogilvy and his good friend Tiger Woods as the only players with multiple victories in the series that brings together the best players from around the globe. • To read the remainder of this story, click here.
SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT THESE EVENTS FOR STUEY  The trophy His best finish is a tie for second at the 2003 American Express Championship in Atlanta. Appleby could change that on Sunday, though, as he starts the final round one behind Lee Westwood, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson in pursuit of the Gary Player Cup. "I know I'm not likely to catch one particular gentleman by winning a lot of them, but I certainly would be disappointed if I couldn't get my own ... piece of Waterford or Wedgewood stuff," he said. "I've seen Tiger hold so many, it would be nice to hold one up. I'm certainly overdue. I've been a long time doing this, so it would be nice." Appleby said the World Golf Championships -- celebrating its 10th anniversary -- have always held a special spot on the schedule due to the star-studded fields each draws. "I thought they held a really uppity status very early on," the Aussie said. "I didn't feel like there was a building of them over the years. I always felt like they were unique very early on. ... "I think they peaked and have maintained a priority for the players. "There's been some awesome champions; obviously Tiger (winning) somewhere around half, he's always given a good show. I don't know how you put it. They got acclaim very quickly, and that's hard to do. Normal tournaments have to build that." BY THE NUMBERS
INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK  More than a few players were interested in the Vijay-Phil pairing in the last group. These two have had some dustups in the past Stuart Appleby is playing with a new prototype driver from Bridgestone at the Bridgestone invitational, and he is playing well. I wonder how many of the numerous Bridgestone execs who are here this week will be trying to get their hands on one of those Mickelson lengthened his putter earlier this year. Today, he added a new, black-and-yellow grip. It matched his outfit, too. THINGS TO WATCH ON SUNDAY 2. Darren Clarke. The affable Irishman played his way into the top 10 on moving day with a 5-under 65 to put himself in contention for the final round. Clarke has won two World Golf Championships events before, so we already know he's got what it takes. 3. The South Africans. Trevor Immelman, Rory Sabbatini and Retief Goosen all improved their places on the leaderboard in the third round and have a good chance to make something happen on Sunday. Keep an eye on those little leaderboard flags.
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The par-5, 512-yard 2nd was the easiest with a Saturday scoring average of 4.50.
The par-4, 480-yard 13th was the toughest with a Saturday scoring average of 4.40.
After a short second shot, Miguel Angel Jimenez chipped in for birdie on the par-4 ninth. 
Darren Clarke wins with his 5-under 65, reached with seven birdies and two bogeys. 
