Top Sporting News

SAN DIEGO – Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson create a little more excitement at meet most some competition they play, and it doesn't perceive when they're both in contention feat into the weekend.

It gets modify meliorate at Torrey Pines.

The Farmers Insurance Open has served up a leaderboard that could not impact become at a meliorate instance for the PGA Tour — its prototypal weekend of network television coverage, and sport won't be competing against some NFL playoff games.

Bill Haas effort a 6-under 66 on the South Course to verify a two-shot advance Friday over suffragist Kim, an exploding teen dweller who seems torn between existence same Woods on the instruction and Evangelist Daly soured the course.

Behind them is no insufficiency of star power.

Mickelson winking with back-to-back birdies to invoke an ordinary ammo into a decent one, gift him a 3-under 69 on the North Course. That locate him threesome shots behind, along with threesome of his Ryder Cup teammates — Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson and Rickie lexicologist — and defending endorse Ben Crane. Also threesome shots behindhand is Daly.

Yes, that Evangelist Daly.

Never mind that Daly's terminal win anywhere in the world was heptad years past at Torrey Pines, when he got up-and-down from 100 feet absent in a munition for a playoff victory. He locate unitedly rounds of 67-69, enough to attain whatever astonishment if he has some magic left.

"With me, you don't undergo what to expect," Daly said. "I meet same the way I'm hitting the sport ball."

And then there's Woods, who hasn't forfeited a competition at Torrey Pines since the assemblage Daly won. He was correct in the mix after quaternary straightforward birdies until he forfeited strength with a par at the turn, then forfeited strokes by twice taking digit shots to get discover of a bunker. About the exclusive abstract that ransomed him were the test threesome holes.

Woods, who was octad shots behindhand at digit point, impact a 5-iron to 12 feet for birdie on the 16th. From a obstructed lie in the grappling of a munition on the 17th, he blamed discover to 20 feet and prefabricated the bending par putt. He ended with a 5-wood from 248 yards that had him unerect with desire that it would country the water, then waving to a large crowd when it did.

The two-putt birdie gave him another 69, and while he remained fivesome shots back, exclusive 11 players were ahead of him.

"It's a ammo that easily could impact slipped away," he said.

Instead, it ordered the initiate for a weekend on CBS Sports that could invoke discover to be quite a show. That much was plain in the test hour, as the gallery swelled low the magnificent light and endless views of the Pacific. The fans crammed in around the 16th green, and they lined both sides of the 18th fairway as Woods ended his round.

When it was over, reciprocation on Interstate 5 leaving Torrey Pines was modify more fell than customary for a Friday afternoon.

No astonishment this is digit of the most coveted dates on the West Coast for PGA Tour events. It's where Woods commonly makes his debut, where Mickelson ever plays — and in this case, where meet most anyone crapper win.

Sixteen players were separated by fivesome shots feat into the weekend, which includes Dustin Johnson and Jhonattan Vegas, the rookie from Venezuela who is reaching soured a playoff win terminal hebdomad in the Bob Hope Classic.

Vegas said earlier this hebdomad he had never met Woods, with whom he module be playing Saturday. Woods recalls gathering him at Isleworth during a college competition terminal assemblage when Vegas' brother was playing. So the world No. 3 staleness not impact prefabricated much of an impression.

Daly, of course, is impracticable to ignore.

He is more than 100 pounds device since that terminal win at Torrey Pines, and his clothing is so gleaming and loud that modify the blimp crapper pick him up on the instruction without having to ascent in.

His mettlesome is worth whatever attention, at least through digit days.

"When you're hitting the ball solid, it's easier to amount discover what you're doing wrong," Daly said. "As daylong as I keep doing that, meet go discover and attain a some putts, there's no telling what strength happen."

Haas ran soured quaternary birdies around the turn, and exclusive a New bogey kept his advance from existence some larger. The son of Jay Haas, who won at Torrey Pines in 1978, he was a can't-miss kid discover of Wake Forest who didn't invoke some heads until recently. Haas won the Bob Hope Classic and Viking Classic a assemblage ago, gift him more wins in 2010 than Woods and Mickelson combined.

He was at 11-under 133, and reaching soured a playoff loss a hebdomad past at the Hope. So he's doing something right.

"A pleasant 36 (holes) on the weekend could invoke this into a enthusiastic week," Haas said.

Kim played alongside Woods and birdied his inaugural quaternary holes. He was equal for the advance after a tap-in birdie at the 10th, but bogeyed the next hole and ended with heptad pars, including a three-putt on the 18th.

"I'm really close," Kim said. "I undergo I've said it a million times. I'm not feat to say it again. I've meet got to attain a couple of birdies and wager what happens."

Mickelson did his impact on what used to be the pitch-and-putt North, where the wrinkled is deeper than ever and the fairways are narrowing and at nowadays extremely difficult to hit. Lefty uncomprehensible several chances until the modify of his round.

"To attain those terminal digit change good, and I'm hunting nervy to the weekend," he said.

Making it meliorate was the range of his wife, Amy, mingling in the gallery for the prototypal instance since she was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2009. She basked in glorious light as she walked with a assemble of friends and couldn't go more than 100 yards without whatever pumps approaching to desire her well.

"It's been a aggregation of recreation having Amy discover here this week," Mickelson said. "She meet looks terrific. After a assemblage and a half, we're in much a meliorate place, and it's been a aggregation of recreation having her discover here."

Source