CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Phil Mickelson’s best round of the year wasn’t enough for him to stay in the lead Saturday in the Wells Fargo Championship, just enough to give him a chance to end his slowest start to a season
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Phil Mickelson’s best round of the year wasn’t enough for him to stay in the lead Saturday in the Wells Fargo Championship, just enough to give him a chance to end his slowest start to a season in 11 years.
J.B. Holmes overpowered Quail Hollow on a good day for scoring, and he made a 20-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the final hole for a 6-under 66. That wound up giving him a one-shot lead when Martin Flores made his only bogey on the final hole. Mickelson had a 63 and was two shots behind.
Flores hit his tee shot into the creek left of the 18th fairway and missed a 20-foot par putt, settling for a 69 that at least put him in the final pairing with Holmes.
They’ll be looking at Mickelson, who filled the course with one big cheer after another. Mickelson rolled in birdie putts of 30 feet on No. 4 and 40 feet on the par-3 sixth hole and went out in 29. He took the outright lead with a 7-iron from 216 yards into 10 feet on the 13th hole and closed with a par as exciting as some of his birdies. After having to lay up out of a fairway bunker, his wedge spun by the hole and left him a tap-in for par.
Holmes was at 13-under 203.
NORTH TEXAS
LPGA SHOOTOUT
IRVING, Texas — Stacy Lewis shot a 2-under 69 even while missing several makeable putts to grab a share of the lead with Meena Lee after three rounds at the North Texas LPGA Shootout.
Lewis, the third-ranked player in the world, looked down in frustration after missing a birdie chance at the 18th hole. The Texan matched Lee at 9-under 204.
In nearly ideal scoring conditions with little if any wind, Lee shot 70.
Suzann Pettersen, Dori Carter and Julieta Granada shot 68 and were a stroke behind the leaders.
INSPERITY
INVITATIONAL
THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Bernhard Langer shot a 4-under 68 to open a three-stroke lead in the Champions Tour’s Insperity Invitational.
Langer had a 10-under 134 total at The Woodlands Country Club.
The 56-year-old German player won the 2007 event at Augusta Pines and successfully defended his title in 2008 at The Woodlands. He won the season-opening event in Hawaii for his 19th Champions Tour title.
Colin Montgomerie was second after a 66, the best round of the day.
Defending champion Esteban Toledo, Gary Hallberg and Bart Bryant were four strokes back. Hallberg had a 67, Toledo shot 71, and Bryant — tied for the first-round lead with Langer — had a 72.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP
AT LAGUNA NATIONAL
SINGAPORE — Denmark’s Anders Hansen shot a 5-under 67 for a share of the lead with Thailand’s Panuphol Pittayarat in The Championship at Laguna National.
Hansen, playing his fourth event since returning from wrist injury, matched Pittayarat (69) at 16-under 200. American David Lipsky (70) and Dutchman Robert-Jan Derksen (67) were two strokes back.
