Weir leads by 4; Mickelson lurks

TUCSON, Ariz. — Phil Mickelson waded into the mud after his tee shot on Tucson National’s 15th hole trickled into a pond. He adjusted his feet for balance and punched a 9-iron down the fairway, earning applause from playing partner Fred Couples.

Another 9-iron on the par 5 to 4 feet and, after wiping off his shoes, an improbable birdie.

A bit of Mickelson magic has Lefty in the hunt to make history.

Mickelson’s mud birdie highlighted a 3-under 70 at the Cologuard Classic on Friday, putting him in contention for a third straight victory to open his PGA Tour Champions career.

“I was so heated, I was going to get in there and play it no matter what — how high that mud came up, it didn’t matter,” Mickelson said. “It wasn’t a hard shot, the ball was sitting fine, so I was going to get in there.”

Mickelson was four shots behind Mike Weir, who had a bogey-free 66 in windy conditions at Tucson National. Scott Verplank holed out from a greenside bunker for birdie on the par-4 ninth to close out a 65.

Mickelson is bidding to become the first player to win his first three starts on a PGA Tour-sanctioned tour.

Lefty had a relatively stress-free front nine, shooting 3 under on one of the courses where he became the last amateur to win on the PGA Tour 30 years earlier. He hit his second shot on the par-5 eighth hole onto the side of the adjacent No. 3 tee, where Jeff Sluman was walking past after teeing off.

“I hit it way over here just to say hi,” Mickelson said, drawing a laugh from Sluman.

Facing a difficult downhill lie in the dormant Bermuda, Mickelson hit the ball to about 6 feet and made the putt for birdie.

Sorenstam makes cut; Ko in front

Annika Sorenstam went more than 12 years without playing on the LPGA Tour. Now she gets two more days.

Sorenstam made three birdies after making the turn at Lake Nona and posted a 1-under 71 in the Gainbridge LPGA in Orlando, Fla. And even with the wrong ruling the previous day that led to an extra stroke, she still made the cut on the number.

“I did what I could,” Sorenstam said. “The goal was to shoot under par and I did, and so that’s all I can do.”

She still was 12 shots out of the lead as Lydia Ko posted a 3-under 69 and took a one-shot lead over Nelly Korda (68). Ryan O’Toole had her second straight 68 and was another shot behind.

Wu soars into Puerto Rico lead

Brandon Wu birdied the final two holes for a 5under 67 and the secondround lead in the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

Wu played the back nine in 4 under at windy Grand Reserve. He birdied the par-4 12th, par-5 15th, par-4 17th and par-5 18th to reach 11-under 133.