Three veteran players start weekend with chance to win
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
ATLANTA -- Their chances of winning the FedExCup admittedly are a tad long.
In the short-term, though, Ernie Els, Kenny Perry and Phil Mickelson now have legitimate designs on THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.
Els and Perry fired 66s at East Lake on Friday to move into fourth at 3 under and a tie for fifth, respectively. Mickelson, meanwhile, fought back to even par with a 67 that could have been lower if not for that bogey on the 18th hole.
The juggernaut at the top of the leaderboard admittedly includes three of the top six FedExCup seeds -- including No. 1 Tiger Woods at 5 under. But any of the three veterans could prove the spoiler with a TOUR Championship win Sunday.
"I played nicely today,'" said Els, who came to East Lake seeded 22nd and looking for his first victory of the season. "I've felt my swing was good ever since I got here. ... I've been into the week early on, so I feel good.
"I've been working on putting and watching what Tiger does a little bit, so if I can keep it up, I might have a chance actually on Sunday. You never know."
Mickelson, who is seeded 14th and a two-time winner in 2009, also has concentrated on his putting -- only he's following the lead of Champions Tour veteran Dave Stockton, not Woods.
The affable lefthander says the two have always had similar putting strokes. So Mickelson called Stockton, who was in San Diego last week for the LPGA Tour event, and spent two days with him.
"It just reaffirmed the way I've putted since I was a kid," said Mickelson, who used just 25 putts on Friday. "It just seems to feel much more natural, much more comfortable. I've been rolling the ball great and making a lot of putts."
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The change isn't dramatic at all. But it could be key for Mickelson, who ranks 90th on TOUR in putts per round and feels his putting has been holding him back for the better part of the last two years.
"The ball is back a little bit more in the stance, so I can get my hands ahead comfortably and a little bit wider, a little bit more stable," Mickelson explained.
Stability was key for Perry on Friday, as well. Thursday's oppressive heat and humidity got to the 49-year-old, who said he actually felt like he might throw up early during his first round.
Several sports drinks and bottles of water laced with amino helped him re-hydrate Thursday night, though. Perry was sweaty -- "I look terrible," he said after his round -- but much more in control on Friday as he made five birdies and one bogey.
"I was just kind of freewheeling it out there," said Perry, who hit 10 fairways and 13 greens while using 28 putts in the second round. "I knew I had to do something kind of spectacular to get back in this golf tournament and I played beautifully.
"Yesterday I was out of it. ... We haven't played in a lot of hot weather this year and physically I was sick. Thank goodness I putted good yesterday. I was making 8-10 footers for par all day. ... Today I drove it a lot better and was able to attack the pins with my irons."
Of the three veterans, Perry has the best chance to win the FedExCup. A two-time winner in 2009, he's seeded ninth and needs his third victory to come at East Lake -- and Woods to finish in a three-way tie for third or worse, among other dominoes to fall.
Els, who tied for second at The Barclays in the first Playoffs event, hit on all cylinders Friday. He found all but three fairways and 12 of 18 greens while using just 26 putts -- a big turnaround from the 31 he took in the first round.
"I played good yesterday, but today I had a couple of putts," said Els, who turns 40 next month the week after he plays in The Presidents Cup. "Kept the ball in play most of the day, really felt comfortable with my ball striking. I tried to play to the percentages.
"One big mistake was on 6. I hit it in the water there, but I got it up and down for bogey. So that was a big save. Other than that I played pretty solid."
Mickelson would be even closer to Els and Perry -- and Woods -- had it not been for that quadruple bogey 8 on the 14th hole Thursday where he played ping-pong from the greenside bunker to the rough and back into the sand.
Lefty recovered well, though, with Friday's 65 and now he finds himself just five strokes off the lead.
"I just needed to get myself back into position," Mickelson said. "We're all going to make mistakes on a course this hard, especially as firm as these greens are. There's only a few holes you'll have a chance to knock it a few feet.
"So I felt if I could get it back to even par or better, I should be in good position for the weekend."
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