In front of 179,022 - the largest crowd in golf history - Phil Mickelson birdied the final four holes and five of the last six for a 7-under 64 and a 6-stroke lead at the Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Saturday.
Mickelson has led after each round, opening with a 60 and shooting a 65 on Friday. He fell a stroke short of the PGA Tour record for the first 54 holes, and matched the tournament mark set by Mark Calcavecchia in 2001.
In the United Arab Emirates, Stephen Gallacher shot a 10-under 62 to take a 3-shot lead at the Dubai Desert Classic, finishing with a 21-under 195 over three rounds to break Tiger Woods' 2001 tournament record by a stroke.
SOCCER: Ghana's Wakaso Mubarak came off the bench to score twice and lead the Black Stars to the semifinals of the African Cup of Nations with a 2-0 win over upstart first-timers Cape Verde in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. . . . In the later quarterfinal, Mali ousted host South Africa with a 3-1 win on penalties in Durban.
A Wayne Rooney goal gave English Premier League leaders Manchester United a 1-0 win over hosts Fulham in London. . . . Moussa Sissoko scored twice to lift host Newcastle United to a 3-2 win over third-place Chelsea. . . . Fourth-place Everton got two goals from Marouane Fellaini to salvage a 3-3 tie with visiting Aston Villa.
In the Spanish league, Cristiano Ronaldo scored the first own goal of his otherwise stellar 10-year career to condemn third-place Real Madrid to a 1-0 defeat at Granada.
TENNIS: Brazil's doubles team of Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares upset top-ranked Americans Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (7), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, in Jacksonville, Fla., keeping the United States from clinching the first-round Davis Cup matchup.
The U.S. has a 2-1 lead heading into Sunday's singles. American John Isner faces Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci in the opener. If Bellucci wins, Sam Querrey of the U.S. and Brazil's Thiago Alves will decide it.
In the longest Davis Cup match ever, the Czech Republic beat Switzerland in a seven-hour doubles epic. Tomas Berdych and Lukas Rosol eventually clinched on their 13th match point to edge Stanislas Wawrinka and Marco Chiudinelli, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 24-22.
HORSE RACING: Trainer Bob Baffert saw Flashback make a solid case as his top Kentucky Derby contender in his 3-year-old debut, winning the $196,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes by 61/4 lengths at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.
The Todd Pletcher barn gained a Derby contender, as 3-year-old Revolutionary, last at the top of the stretch, split rivals in the final strides to win by a neck at the $200,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct.
Trainer John Terranova's 3-year-old Falling Sky stumbled at the break but recovered to win the Derby prep $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes by a neck at Tampa Bay Downs in Florida.
NOTEWORTHY: Catcher Earl Williams, who hit 33 home runs in 1971 with the Atlanta Braves and was named NL rookie of the year, died last week at age 64 of acute myeloid leukemia in Somerset, N.J.
Auburn University officials announced they will remove the iconic oak trees at Toomer's Corner, poisoned by a powerful herbicide in 2010, since they are unlikely to survive.
Alabama fan Harvey Updyke Jr., accused of the poisoning, goes on trial April 8.
- Staff and wire reports
