CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Phil Mickelson has figured out the secret to the greens at Quail Hollow. Or maybe he’s just had a lot of good bounces for two days.
Mickelson opened with a pair of 15-foot birdie putts, dropped in a 40-foot putt at the turn and made back-to-back birdies late in his round Friday. He finished with a 5-under 67 for a two-shot lead going into the weekend at the Wells Fargo Championship.
Quail Hollow, renowned for pristine conditions, had everything go wrong with spring and wound up with putting surfaces that are mostly choppy with brown patches where the grass has died. Two greens were entirely replaced by sod last week.
Despite that, Mickelson has taken only 50 putts in two rounds. And the most staggering statistic of all? He hasn’t missed from inside 10 feet.
“I think that the greens are putting very, very good, obviously, because I’ve putted them well,” Mickelson said. “But with them being slower, we’re able to putt them aggressively. We’re able to take some of the break out without fear of racing it way by. And I’ve made a concerted effort to leave uphill putts, which has allowed me to putt even more aggressive and play even less break. And that’s made a big difference in my putting.”
For a tournament that already has had six major champions win in the 10-year history, Mickelson is missing from the list. And it’s a title he dearly wants. He was at 9-under 135 heading into the weekend, though there is plenty of star power around him.
Nick Watney played with Mickelson the opening two rounds and looks efficient, going bogey-free on the back nine. He had a 70 and was at 7-under 137, along with George McNeill (68) and Scott Gardiner, the 37-year-old tour rookie who had missed eight straight cuts coming into the Quail Hollow. Gardiner, the first Aboriginal Australian to become a pro golfer, ran off four straight birdies at the turn and had a 67.
Rory McIlroy struggled with the speed of the greens — he felt they were much faster than Thursday — but rallied on the front nine with three birdies for a 71. Lee Westwood twice hit into the water on the par-5 seventh and still escaped with a bogey by making a 25-foot putt. He had a 68. They were in a group at 6-under 138 that included Rod Pampling, the ninth alternate and last man in the field.
David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., had a 72, to drop six back at 3-under 141. Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch shot a 72, and is eight off the pace at 143. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., had a 73, and is at 145. Calgary’s Stephen Ames missed the cut with a 76, leaving him at 153.
Sergio Garcia twice made news for his work on the greens.
Garcia used his wedge to knock in a 5-footer on the third hole, only this wasn’t any protest about the overall conditions of Quail Hollow. He had a scrape mark left by cleats, which he described as 3 inches long and nearly an inch high.
“I thought the only way I could make this putt was to get lucky,” Garcia, and he wasn’t feeling lucky on this day. The prudent move was to hit a 52-degree wedge, chip it just over the rough turf, and he pulled it off beautifully. It was a throwback to the days of the stymie, when players didn’t mark their golf balls, or to a generation ago in summer events when spike marks could be an inch high.
Garcia didn’t sign for his 68 — he was five shots behind — until talking to rules officials and going over the videotape. A TV viewer said it appeared Garcia did not replace his ball in the same spot where he marked it on the 17th. Garcia, demonstrating later for reporters, said he slid the coin to the side of the ball, and turned his hand around when he replaced the ball so he wouldn’t brush the coin. He said it appeared his ball was a fraction of an inch away from the original spot.
PGA Tour rules officials signed off on it, and Garcia said they even called the USGA to confirm.
“I said, ’If you guys feel like I gained something by moving it — I don’t know how much, like a centimetre or couple centimetres, whatever it is — I’m fine with the two-stroke penalty. I’d rather take the two- stroke penalty than come out here like I was a cheater,”’ Garcia said. “Obviously, they felt that wasn’t the case. I told them exactly what I did, and they felt it was fine.”