Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson struggle again at PGA Championship

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Early in his rain-soaked round, Phil Mickelson added a second black golf glove to combat the conditions.

With gloves on both hands, he looked a bit like a boxer. That seemed fitting, given the British Open champion has only a puncher’s chance at winning the PGA Championship.

Add Tiger Woods to that list too.

On a day when Jason Dufner set an Oak Hill record with a 63 and 399 birdies and three eagles were recorded, the top two ranked players in the world combined for a mere five birdies. Mickelson shot his second straight one-over 71 with one red number on his scorecard and is 11 strokes off Dufner’s pace. Woods’ four-birdie, four-bogey round of 70 left him at one over and 10 back.

“I struggled these first two days for sure,� Mickelson said. “Playing with Adam [Scott] and Justin [Rose], who played really terrific golf, made it look even worse. But I fought hard to stay in it.�

Woods drove the green on the 321-yard, par-four 14th and promptly three-putted for par, symbolic of his round. He also three-putted No. 16 for bogey and bogeyed the difficult 18th.

“I didn’t hit it anywhere near as well as I did [Thursday],� Woods said. “Consequently, I didn’t have that many looks. When I did, I missed my share too.�

Mickelson enlisted swing coach Butch Harmon for a late-evening practice session after Thursday’s opening round and said he did drive better. But he struggled with his iron play and putting.

“It’s just a little bit off,� Mickelson said. “I feel it can turn around in a second. But I struggled on the greens. I was over-reading most every putt. And I really struggled fading the ball. Consequently, I had trouble getting the ball working to the left pins and left myself a lot of long putts.�

Rosy outlook

As soon as the rain stopped and Rose donned a fresh glove, the reigning U.S. Open champion said a mental trigger engaged.

“I felt like I could start playing some golf instead of trying to survive,� Rose said.

It showed with a spectacular 29 on his final side, the front nine, en route to a 66. Rose is six under overall, three shots off the lead.

“We probably went through five or six towels on the [first] nine, and there were still times I hit shots with wet hands,� Rose said. “But I feel like my game suits the tougher courses.�

Tap-ins

The magic didn’t return 10 years later. Shaun Micheel, whose seven-iron to two inches on the 72nd hole at Oak Hill in 2003 won him the PGA, didn’t survive the cut at 12 over. Other prominent names going home were Bubba Watson, Luke Donald and Ernie Els. ... David Hearn, the Canadian journeyman who sat one stroke off the lead after one round, stumbled badly with a 76 and is two over. ... Jamie Donaldson, who shot an 80 on Thursday, withdrew before Friday’s round because of a back injury. Former Masters and U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera withdrew after 11 holes because of an injured left wrist.

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