Mickelson shoots 63 and shares lead

Phil Mickelson tees off at the third hole at Redstone Golf Club in Humble, Texas, during the third round of the Houston Open.

He and Scott Verplank were tied at 13 under after three rounds of the Houston Open.

Associated Press

Posted: April 03, 2011

HUMBLE, Texas - Phil Mickelson shot his lowest round in two years on Saturday, tying the Redstone Golf Club course record with a 9-under 63 to share the lead with Scott Verplank after three rounds at the Houston Open.

Verplank shot his second straight 65 to catch Mickelson at 13-under par.

Aaron Baddeley (66) and second-round leader Chris Kirk (69) were 1 stroke back, and defending champion Anthony Kim and David Hearn (66) were 2 behind.

Mickelson, the defending champion at next week's Masters, equaled the record score set by Johnson Wagner and Adam Scott in 2008 and matched by Jimmy Walker on Thursday. It was Mickelson's best score since a 62 in the third round at the 2009 Northern Trust Open, which he won.

Paired with Lee Westwood, he lost his tee shot left on No. 6, a dogleg left. Mickelson took a drop out of a native area, but then saved par by holing a 50-yard pitch from behind the green.

When the ball disappeared, Westwood's caddie, Billy Foster, kneeled and bowed to Mickelson in joking homage as the gallery exploded into a roar.

"It could've really been bad," Mickelson said. "When that chip went in, it really propelled me to play the last 12 holes good."

LPGA

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. - Defending champion Yani Tseng roared into the lead at the Kraft Nabisco Championship with a third-round 66, moving 2 shots ahead of Stacy Lewis in the LPGA Tour's first major of the year.

The top-ranked Tseng showed a champion's confidence with her aggressive, powerful play at Mission Hills, shooting the round's low score to move to 12-under 204.

Lewis finished with a 71. Morgan Pressel (69) was 4 shots off the lead in third. Michelle Wie (69) was 6 strokes back, staying in the hunt for her first major title.

Champions Tour

SAUCIER, Miss. - Tom Lehman broke the course record at Fallen Oak by shooting an 8-under 64, taking a 1-stroke lead over Jeff Sluman at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic. Lehmen shot a 7-under on the back nine, including five birdies in a row.

Nearby Golf Mecca

The Ocean City, Md. area is much closer than Myrtle Beach and offers a wide range of courses to suit all players. Plus, read about clusters of courses in Utah and Mexico,in the Special Golf Section next Sunday in Travel.