COURSE REVIEWS

Buick Invitational:
Third-Round Coverage

Tiger Makes His Charge
But Mickelson Stands His Ground

By Bob Buttitta,
GolfCalifornia.com Course Reviewer

 

	Tiger Woods

TORREY PINES, CA - Despite struggling with his putter throughout the round, Tiger Woods shot a 5-under, 67 in Saturday's third round of the Buick Invitational, leaving him with a chance to both defend the title he won a year ago and run his consecutive win streak to seven.

But while Woods feels he's back in contention, winning the tournament is not going to be easy. Woods trails tournament leader Phil Mickelson by six strokes and was unable to shave even one stroke off his deficit on Saturday.

Mickelson, the 1993 Buick Invitational champion, was 5-under in Saturday's round, leaving him 16-under through three rounds. Mickelson, a San Diego native, is as comfortable on Torrey Pines greens and fairways as he is on any course in the country, something that should serve him well on Sunday as he tries to win for the first time since the 1998 Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

There are actually several players between Woods and Mickelson, starting with Shigeki Maruyama, who was tied with Mickelson after two rounds and now is second, two strokes back, after shooting a 3-under 69. In addition, Davis Love III sits at 11-under par and two other PGA veterans, Fred Couples and Jeff Sluman are both tied with Tiger at 10-under.

	Phil Mickelson

Mickelson hasn't held the lead heading into the final day of a tournament since the 1998 Mercedes Championships and he didn't win a tournament in 1999. Still, he's pumped about his chances of ending both his own winless streak and Woods' winning streak as well.

"I feel very good about my round and that I'm in the lead," Mickelson said. "Tiger played a good round today and made up some strokes early in the round, but he started the day six strokes behind and he's still six back.

"For him to win tomorrow he will have to shoot a very low round. I'm not saying I'm going to win but there are a lot of guys who have a chance to win tomorrow. If I play solid and I play smart, I will force him to have to shoot 10 or 11 under in order to win."

Mickelson started slowly with five straight pars and only made two birdies on the front nine. He started his back nine with a bogey on the par 4, 373 yard tenth and said the turning point of his round was a par he made at the par 4, 11th hole, where he rolled in a tough 8-foot par putt.

From there Mickelson went on a tear, making birdies on four of his last six holes, giving him a good chance to walk away with the top prize on Sunday.

"I'm very excited because my game is getting better and better," Mickelson said. "It's reaching a level it had never reached before. Last year my scoring clubs reached a low level I had not seen in a while. But I made some changes and now my short irons are getting me close and I'm making some putts so I can shoot some low scores."

Woods said Saturday's round was somewhat frustrating because he hit the ball so well yet failed to convert many chances because he could not get a putt to drop.

"I gave myself a lot of opportunities to make some putts and I can't tell you how many good putts I hit that just didn't go in, they're burning the edge," Woods said. "And it is a little disconcerting knowing you are hitting good putts and they are not going in. But at least one good thing is that you are hitting good putts."

A prime example was Woods' birdie putt on 18. When he hit it he thought for sure that it was going in but like many on the day, it was not to be.

"I hit it right on the right edge and it's just hard to believe it doesn't break," Woods said. "I look at that putt, and you look at how much is on the crown and you figure it has got to break maybe at least a ball and a half. But I figure, well the greens haven't been breaking that much because they have been bouncing most of the time so maybe go ahead and put less break and it still doesn't break."

Despite the fact that he was six strokes off the lead at the start of the day and Mickelson is the hometown hero, Woods' gallery dwarfed all others on the course including the final group of the day.

As the day went on and his score started to drop, the number of people following Tiger grew. Each time he made or even missed a putt, everyone around the course knew based on the respective cheers or groans.

Woods said he feels no pressure regarding his current winning streak. He said as long as he comes out and gives it his best effort, he's never upset about not winning. When asked if he was extra juiced up to try and keep the streak going, Woods said just the opposite is true. "I'll be honest, I actually more calm," Tiger said.

"I don't know if that's because of all the attention and media just clamoring for every word that you say. I think it is just because of I've dealt with it before, probably at a much frenzied pace back in 97. This doesn't compare."

Asked about what kind of number it will take on Sunday to win, Woods said he has a number in mind but preferred to keep it to himself, until the end of the final round.

He said the weather might also play a part in determining the winner, especially if the forecast of rain actually turns out to be true.

"The weatherman said two to four inches of rain for today, with scattered showers in the afternoon but it never rained," Woods said. "So, I don't know what it's going to be tomorrow. If it's windy, obviously you don't have to go as low. But if it's calm like today, probably you'll have to go pretty low."

While most of the players on the leader board are known to golf fans, Maruyama is the wild card in the equation. A talented player from Japan, Maruyama said it's exciting to compete against players like Mickelson and Woods.

A big hitter, Mickelson said Maruyama has the ability to walk off with the title if he continues to play like he has. However, you won't hear that from him.

"I still think I have no chance to win," Maruyama said through his interpreter. "I just don't want to think about it. It's my first time being in the last group and I just want to enjoy the tournament."

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He is motivated to win for many reasons, including his desire to make history. "I want to be the first player from Japan to win on the mainland," he said. "Since I was small, my dream was to play on the U.S. tour and right now the field, the world's best players are playing in the United States. Trying to be the player that ends Tiger Woods' streak is also motivation to win."

Mickelson admits he too is motivated by trying to be the player that stops Tiger but winning in San Diego means a lot more to him than that.

"This tournament means a lot to me," Mickelson said. "It's the place where I got my first exposure to the PGA tour and it being in San Diego, it's always a place I want to come out and play well.

"I'm excited, but not just about this tournament, but the entire year."

Buick Notes

Couples Feeling Good: Fred Couples was pleased with his play on Saturday. He felt good about his performance and about his chances heading into the final round. He said while Tiger is on the minds of every player on the tour these days, he doesn't dwell on what he's doing.

"If I'm out there worrying about Tiger, I will have huge problems," Couples said. "I played with him the first two days and he struggled. In fact, if he happens to win, I may have to start believing him when he says he won without his "A" game.

Couples will get another chance to watch Woods on Sunday. They will play in the second to the last group along with Jeff Sluman. Sluman fired a 66 on Saturday. They will play ahead of Mickelson, Maruyama and Love.

Love Feeling Better About His Swing: Davis Love III started the week telling reporters that he's been working on his swing and wasn't sure how it would work in the tournament. While he said there have been some ups and downs, for the most part he is pleased.

"I hit a lot of good shots," Love said. "I got in trouble when I tried to hit some cute shots or tricks. I have not been driving it perfect, but it's better. I know I have to take my time and put it together. But I do feel I'm close.

Love would like to be closer to Mickelson. "It will take a good round to beat Phil, he's playing very well," Love said. "It's nice to be in the last group. If I get off to a quick start like I did today, I can get right back in it. But Phil is in good position. All I can do is go out and do my best and see what happens."