Feb. 21, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM staff
The first group will soon tee off in today's third round of the Northern Trust Open. Here's how it sets up:
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| Groups We're Watching |
12:49 pm ET
(9:49 am local) |
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Phil Mickelson, Rory Sabbatini, Luke Donald
Which Phil will show up Saturday -- Thursday Phil, who shot a 63, or Friday Phil, who had a 72? Track 'em
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12:07 pm ET
(9:07 am local) |
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Bob Estes, Jim Furyk, Ben Curtis
A Friday 65 vaulted Estes a whopping 82 spots up the board. Could a second straight top-10 result await? Track 'em |
11:04 am ET
(8:04 am local) |
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David Duval, Jimmy Walker, Kevin Sutherland
Duval has now made two straight cuts. Can he put together a good Saturday and post a strong finish? Track 'em |
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EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR Network on-site correspondent Bob Stevens looks back at Friday's second round and previews Saturday's third round:
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| Saturday's forecast |
Cloudy
Temp: 72 high/52 low
Clouds should control the sky most of the day, but the chance of rain is only 10 percent. Winds will come out of the south at 6 mph. |
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Walking the line: How fine is the line between shooting 63 and, say, 72, where Phil Mickelson went from Thursday to Friday? The stats say he actually hit more greens in the 72 round than the 63, but took 12 more putts. But watching Phil, the difference was in how close he was hitting it to the hole from the fairway, not his putting.
Of his 8 birdies on Thursday, only one required a putt longer than 9 feet. Friday, he had only two birdie putts inside 9 feet all day. Phil actually felt fine with his flat stick after that second round, lipping out numerous long-range putts. If he can hit it just a little closer Saturday, watch for him to emerge again out of a jam-packed leaderboard.
The anti-Phil: Robert Allenby was playing alongside Phil and had just about the opposite kind of day Friday. He's a spectacular ball-striker (fourth in that category last year and second in Greens in Regulation) and not only hit all but five greens, he consistently had putts inside 8 feet all day. He nearly chipped in for eagle at the first and nearly chipped in for birdie at the second, but then he had a chunked chip at the fourth that resulted in a double bogey and negated the magic of hitting it inside 5 feet on the next two holes.
To cap off his frustration, just as he settled in over a 6-footer at the 17th for birdie, someone dropped a plate and broke it in the hospitality area around the green. Robert smiled, backed off and re-set, but everyone knew his concentration was broken. He missed, just the final nail in a 67 that could have been 64 or 63. Watch out for him on Saturday if he can coax home any putts at all.
Local knowledge: One of the things that makes Riviera special is that you have to learn it. Rarely does anyone just come in and blow it away. Eight of the nine players teeing off in the final three groups today have finished in the top 11 here before at least once this decade and the one who hasn't is Geoff Ogilvy, who was 19th at the Northern Trust in 2006 and whose last two wins came at Doral and Winged Foot. Four of the nine were in the top 11 just last year (Mickelson won, Luke Donald was third, K.J. Choi was seventh and Steve Stricker 11th). At Riviera, knowledge could be king this weekend.
| The one stat(s) you need to know |
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Phil Mickelson's 1-over 72 on Friday snapped a string of nine consecutive sub-par rounds at Riviera. Mickelson had gone a collective 36 under par in his last nine rounds before his over-par effort on Friday. The left-hander skipped Riviera from 2002-06, but finished second in 2007 and won in 2008. |
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| The Film Room |
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PGA TOUR Today
Win McMurry updates action from the second round of the 2009 Northern Trust Open and previews what to watch for in the third round. Watch it |
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Shot of the day
Scott McCarron almost sinks a 67-foot putt on the par-3 sixth hole during Friday's second round en route to taking the lead. Watch it |
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McCarron grabs the lead
Scott McCarron built a two-shot lead in the second round, then spoke to the media about his day and his outlook for the weekend. Watch it |
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