Phil Mickelson remained within two shots of leader Joe Ogilvie after the third round of the rain disrupted PGA Tour event in New Orleans on Sunday, poised to back his Masters title with another.
Playing for the first time since his thrilling victory at Augusta National, the United States’s Mickelson posted an up-and-down three-under-par 69. He finished with a bogey but still put himself in contention for his second title of the season.
Ogilvie started the third round four shots behind unheralded leader Danny Ellis, but a bogey-free six-under 66 saw him in position for his first win in 130 career PGA Tour starts.
”My putter kept me in it pretty much all day,” Olgivie said.
”I’m making a lot of putts from six and 10 feet that maybe in the last year I haven’t made.”
The 30-year-old journeyman from the US has a 54-hole total of 17-under 199, two strokes ahead of Mickelson and Charles Howell. Justin Rose of England and Japan’s Hidemichi Tanaka were three back, with Vijay Singh of Fiji four off the pace in a group that also included South Korean KJ Choi.
”Guys behind us will be making charges before we even get on the course,” Mickelson said. ”I’ll have to play a very good round and, trailing by two, I won’t have the luxury of being able to make mistakes.”
Stormy weather in Louisiana means the tournament will feature the second straight Monday finish on the PGA Tour.
Thanks to heavy rain earlier in the week, many players didn’t finish their first rounds until Saturday. — Sapa-AFP