Golf: The Phil-good factor

Phil Mickelson shot a five-under-par 66 at Pebble Beach to climb within two shots of the lead at the halfway point of the US Open, giving him a chance to finally win something more than silver.

But it wasn't enough to catch Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland, who set the early pace with a three-under 68 to take a two-shot lead into the weekend. But all that mattered to Mickelson was getting back to even par.

He did one better. With five birdies in a seven-hole stretch early in his round, Mickelson shot a tournament-best 66 and joined a shrinking group of five players who have beaten par over two days.

McDowell was at three-under 139, and made even more friends with a bogey on the final hole. Because of the 10-shot cut rule, that assured 60-year-old Tom Watson two more rounds in what will likely be his final US Open.

Mickelson was joined at one-under 141 by two-time US Open champion Ernie Els (68), 18-year-old Ryo Ishikawa (71) and Dustin Johnson (70).

"I'm in a good spot," said Mickelson, whose five runner-up finishes is a US Open record. "I don't look at the leaderboard. I don't look at other players. I look at par. If you can stay around par, you're going to be in the tournament Sunday. That was kind of the goal."

The Masters champion opened with a 75 after missing a half-dozen birdie putts inside 12 feet - he hardly missed anything yesterday. It began with an approach into about four feet on the tough par-four second hole, and Mickelson was relentless on the front nine until hitting into the cavernous bunker short of the ninth green and making his only bogey. By then, he was back in the game.

Meanwhile, Tiger Woods is talking a better game than he's playing. In what might be the softest conditions the US Open will get all week, Woods managed a one-over 72. It only took him two holes to make his first birdie - he made only two more the rest of the round and wound up seven shots off the lead.

But he made it sound much closer.

"I'm right there," Woods said. "As we know, the US Open is only going to get tougher as the weekend goes."

Trouble is, it's playing plenty tough already for the world's No 1.

Woods was at four-over 146. Except for the one time he missed the cut in the US Open in 2006, it was his highest 36-hole score going into the weekend at this championship since 1998. There were times he had trouble controlling distance, such as the short iron that came up woefully short on the 15th and well long on the ninth, making him struggle both times to make par.

He missed good birdie chances with poor putts on two of the par fives.

His mood was best reflected on the par-four second hole, where 10 years ago Woods drove it down the middle all four rounds.

He was in the bunker for the second straight time yesterday, this one on the right side about a yard away from a tongue-shaped lip. Woods took out a long iron and opened his stance, looking as though he would try to big slice around the lip.

Thinking better of it, he walked out of the bunker, slammed the club back into the bag and took out a sand wedge to play it safe. His third shot to the green matched the state of his game - ordinary. It came up some 35 feet short and he made bogey.

"I just need to keep progressing," Woods said. "It's a long process. This is a tournament where you don't win it with one round, but you can lose it with one round."

Lee Westwood said at the start of the week that he enjoyed playing with Woods because he typically is in or around the lead by the end of the week. Now, it looks as though Woods is the one who's along for the ride.

Westwood held himself together through some bad patches and shot a 71 to finish at three-over 145.

Ernie Els, the other star in the marquee threesome, really seemed to thrive, especially on the final hole with a shot that fans once expected from Woods. Els' ball was in the rough, well below his feet, when he gouged it out and ran up a narrow ramp to the green for a par and a 68. Els was at one-under 141 and in contention for a third US Open title.

Woods has never made up a seven-shot deficit on the weekend at a major but Els isn't about to count him out.

"No, you can't," Els said. "A guy that's won 14 majors, he's got a lot of game. I think he's very close. I haven't played with him in about a year. I think his ball-striking was pretty good the last two days.

"His short game is pretty sharp. He just didn't make enough putts. I think it's only a matter of time before he starts getting in his stride."

However, he's running out of time at this US Open. Kiwi Michael Campbell's woes continued with a second round 12-over-par 83 to add to his first round 78 - missing the cut by 12 strokes.