The Daily Wrap-up: Round 2 of the CA Championship

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Phil Mickelson had seven birdies and just one bogey in a round of 66 on Friday that put him in the lead at Doral.

DORAL, Fla. (AP) -- The World Golf Championships-CA Championship looks like any other big golf tournament held over the last nine months.

RELATED LINKS

Leaderboard: Round 2 scores
Round 3 tee times
Scorecard: Phil Mickelson
The Live Report: Round 2
Ross: Marksaeng's beginnings
Notebook: Tidbits from the course
Player interviews
Auclair: The bare facts
Round 2 podcast
PGA TOUR Today

VIDEO

Round 2 highlights
McIlroy makes eagle

Phil Mickelson brings some star power. He built a two-shot lead Friday by chipping in for birdie for the third time and smoking a 3-wood from 245 yards around the palm trees and over the water, setting up another birdie.

The group chasing him includes two guys who already have won this year -- Nick Watney (Buick Invitational), who shot 67 and was two shots behind; and Kenny Perry (FBR Open), who had a 64 and was another shot back.

And Tiger Woods was nowhere to be found.

Only this time, he's actually playing in the tournament.

Mickelson finished strong for the second straight day and put himself in the last group at Doral for the first time in three years. His foil on the Blue Monster typically is Woods, but Lefty will be keeping different company this time.

Woods was 10 shots behind.

• To read the remainder of this story, click here.

HUMBLE BACKGROUND, WORLD-CLASS GAME
By Helen Ross, Chief of Correspondents

DORAL, Fla. -- For much of this balmy, breezy Friday afternoon, the names Mickelson, Singh and Marksaeng jockeyed for position at the top of the leaderboard at Doral's Blue Monster.

Only, it was India's Jeev Milkha Singh, not Vijay, he of the Fijian branch of the "family," who was battling Phil Mickelson during the second round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship.

And while the American was putting that awesome short game on display, chipping in for birdie for the third time this week, Prayad Marksaeng, the diminutive golfer from Thailand, was also turning heads, tied for the lead until he triple-bogeyed his 36th hole.

By day's end, Mickelson may have been leading alone, but players from Northern Ireland, Colombia, Australia, Spain, England, South African and Denmark had joined the fray.

And that's exactly what the World Golf Championships were designed to do. The International Federation of PGA Tours launched this global series in 1999 to provide more opportunities for the world's best to compete against each other.

Tiger Woods admittedly has dominated the World Golf Championships -- and everything else in the game -- but players like Singh, Prayad and Rory McIlroy, the talented teen from Northern Ireland, are being introduced to a broader audience this week.

• To read the remainder of this story, click here.

Top 5 notables at CA Championship

Name Score Position Comment Saturday tee time Rory McIlroy 10 under T3 Teen continues to show game beyond his years with a 66 that included three birdies and an eagle in a five-hole stretch. 1:40 p.m. Camilo Villegas 9 under T5 One day after four birdies on front, Villegas had just one birdie on the first nine at Doral, but still managed a 68. 1:30 p.m. Jim Furyk 8 under T8 Despite being less accurate off the tee and into the green, shot second straight 68 to remain in contention into weekend. 1:10 p.m. Anthony Kim 4 under T26 Four straight birdies, starting on No. 9, were erased by bogeys on two of Kim's next three holes in a round of 69. 11:40 a.m. Tiger Woods 3 under T35 Failed to break 70 for a second straight day and couldn't get any putts to drop with 28 of them for second day in a row. 10:55 a.m.

Friday's Best

EASIEST HOLE TOUGHEST HOLE The par-5 first hole was easiest with a Friday scoring average of 4.256. EAGLES: 10 BIRDIES: 103 PARS: 43 BOGEYS: 4 OTHERS: 0 The par-4 18th was toughest with a Friday scoring average of 4.506. EAGLES: 0 BIRDIES: 5 PARS: 95 BOGEYS: 38 OTHERS: 22

SHOT OF THE DAY ROUND OF THE DAY Rory McIlroy set up an eagle on the par-5 eighth by hitting it to 6 feet from over 260 yards out. Watch his shot Kenny Perry hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation and played a flawless round with eight birdies and no bogeys. Check out his scorecard

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"It kind of sucks. I hope [Tiger] comes out tomorrow and plays a great round and makes a move. I would love to get him back from '05." -- Phil Mickelson on if it's any different with Tiger Woods 10 strokes back.

INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Brian Katrek offers these observations from Friday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.

There was a big deal made a couple of years ago about Phil Mickelson moving the logo on his shirt from the left chest to the right chest. He plays left handed and the new location was more visible with the camera angles used to shoot his swing from the other side. The logo on his left sleeve is different than others, too. Instead of being on the side of the sleeve, Mickelson's is on the front of the sleeve, so it faces forward. Team Mickelson is always willing to do things differently.

Jeev Milkha Singh was disappointed by his double-bogey finish at the 18th. I was disappointed to see that he is no longer carrying that Zebra-striped golf bag. The bag was not only Zebra striped, it was actual Zebra hide.

Watching Tiger Woods from the gallery is always interesting. It helps to be tall. Former Miami Heat center Alonso Mourning was in the gallery on Friday and had no problem seeing over the crowd.

What the top finishers said...

Player Position Score Comment Phil Mickelson 1 13 under "In the past when I would hit it this hard, I would have a lot of big misses. I have more confidence in where the ball is going. This is perfect for Augusta. This is the driver I'll be using at Augusta and I'll probably be using it the rest of the year, I'm hitting it so well." Nick Watney 2 11 under "Phil, for good reason he gets a lot of attention. He's a multiple major winner, and I guess it's just my job to make people notice with my play ... and try to keep my clothes on."

Read full interview transcripts

Phil Mickelson Nick Watney Full archive

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SECOND-ROUND NOTEBOOK: CA CHAMPIONSHIP
By Chris Reimer, PGA TOUR Staff

DORAL, Fla. -- Phil Mickelson is the second-round leader or co-leader for the 28th time in his career. He has converted 16 of those leads to victories, most recently the 2008 Crown Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

• The last time Mickelson held or shared the 36-hole lead was the 2008 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. Mickelson is still in search of his first career World Golf Championships Victory.

• Mickelson has 42 putts through his first 36 holes (average of 21 putts per round) including four chip-ins from off the green. Mickelson's best single putting performance was the 1998 MCI Classic where he averaged 24.75 putts per round. The PGA TOUR record for fewest putts through four rounds is 92 by David Frost at the 2005 MCI Heritage at Harbour Tour Golf Links.

• In the 10 previous times this event has been played, there has never been a tie for the second-round lead. This trend continued, as Mickelson shot a second-round 6-under-par 66 and holds a two-stroke lead over Nick Watney. The 13-under total through two rounds posted by Mickelson is the lowest since the tournament moved to Doral Resort & Spa in 2007.

• To read the remainder of this story,click here.

KODAK CHALLENGE: The first-of-its-kind competition for PGA TOUR players, The Kodak Challenge celebrates beautiful holes and memorable moments on the PGA TOUR. The Kodak Challenge offers $1 million to the winner There will be one designated Kodak Challenge Hole at 24 different PGA TOUR tournaments in 2008, with this week's featured hole the 663-yard 18th hole.

Players, who must play at least 18 of the holes during the season to be eligible, will count their lowest score relative to par on the Kodak Challenge Hole made during an official competition round. The player, with the lowest cumulative score in relation to par at the end of the challenge, wins.

For more on the Kodak Challenge, click here.

This week's Kodak Challenge hole

HOLE: The par-5, 560-yard 8th at Doral Golf Resort and Spa LAST YEAR: The 16th played to a stroke average of 4.652, with players recording 3 eagles, 129 birdies, 158 pars, 20 bogeys and 3 double bogeys DESCRIPTION: On this par 5, the lake is very much in play for longer hitters. Numerous palm trees beyond the bunker on the right punish any bailout to that side. Many players go for the green in two, but to do so requires a long, accurate drive usually into the winter wind from the southwest.(Click here for Doral Golf Resort tour)