Twice champion Phil Mickelson, helped by the unexpected bonus of a late eagle, maintained a one-shot lead in Friday's second round of the Northern Trust Open without playing at his best. A stroke in front of the chasing pack when the delayed first round was completed earlier in the day, the American left-hander carded a one-under-par 70 in breezy sunshine at Riviera Country Club. Mickelson, who won his 40th PGA Tour title at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Sunday, holed out with a lob wedge from the fairway to eagle the par-four eighth on the way to a six-under total of 136. Pat Perez fired a six-birdie 65 to lie second, a stroke in front of fellow Americans Jimmy Walker (66), Jonathan Byrd (70) and Matt Kuchar (69), Swede Carl Pettersson (70) and Australian Jarrod Lyle (65). Eight players were still out on the course when play was suspended in fading light, though all were well off the lead, and they will complete the second round early on Saturday. “I probably didn't play the greatest today, but I was able to kind of salvage a good round and had a good break on eight,” Mickelson, who also recorded two birdies and three bogeys, told reporters. “That was kind of a nice little bonus. “I left myself uphill par putts on seven and nine, and that's really not a good thing to do here. If you're going to make five or six-footers, you really have to have them uphill where you can hit them aggressive enough to hold the line.” British world No. 1 Luke Donald carded a 72 to end the day six strokes off the pace, level with champion Aaron Baddeley of Australia (69) and American Joe Ogilvie, who aced the par-three 16th en route to a 71. The cut was projected to fall at three-over 145 with Riviera fan favourite and twice winner Fred Couples, Australian Geoff Ogilvy and 2006 champion Rory Sabbatini of South Africa all likely to miss out. Miyazato leads Ai Miyazato shot a 7-under 65 Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over top-ranked Yani Tseng after the third round of the LPGA Thailand. Miyazato, the Japanese player who won the 2010 tournament, birdied five of the first six holes on the back nine. She had a 14-under 202 total on Siam Country Club's Pattaya Old Course. Tseng, the winner last year, shot her second straight 65 after opening with a 73. The Taiwanese star had 12 worldwide victories last year, seven on the LPGA Tour. Australia's Karrie Webb and South Korea's Jiyai Shin were 12 under. Webb shot a 71, and Shin had a 68. Webb had a three-stroke lead Saturday morning after the completion of the lightning-delayed second round, playing the final four holes in 1 under after a 65.
