LOS ANGELES — With darkness rapidly descending, Scott McCarron saw enough of the 18th green from 211 yards away to realize it would be one of the tougher shots he faced Friday. The way his week is going, it turned into another birdie.
McCarron aimed his 5-wood toward the bleachers and watched it fade back toward the flag to about 10 feet, a final birdie in his round of 3-under 68 that gave him a two-shot lead over Steve Stricker and Tommy Armour III in the Northern Trust Open. .
Phil Mickelson will need to do better on the weekend if he wants to successfully defend his title at Riviera. He was nine shots worse than his opening-round 63, but it was easy to see the upside after a 72 put him in the group only three behind.
The last two groups finished in the dark, including two players whose PGA Tour debuts turned into short ones.
Ryo Ishikawa, the 17-year-old sensation from Japan, had a 71 to finish at 2-over 144 and miss the cut by three shots. Vincent Johnson, playing on the Charlie Sifford Exemption, bogeyed his last hole for a 74 to also finish three shots below the cut line. He also had a two-stroke penalty on No. 5.
Johnnie Walker Classic
PERTH, Australia — American Anthony Kang, the Malaysian Open winner last week, shot his second straight 5-under 67 for a share of the second-round lead in the Johnnie Walker Classic with Ireland’s Damien McGrane.
Kang and McGrane (68) had 10-under 134 totals on The Vines Resort’s composite course in the event sanctioned by the Australasian, European, Asian tours.
New Zealand amateur Danny Lee, the U.S. Amateur champion, was a stroke back along with Spain’s Ignacio Garrido and Japan’s Hiroyuki Fujita. They shot 68s. American star Anthony Kim shot his second straight 68 to top a group at 8 under.
Greg Norman, playing his first regular, non-senior tournament since finishing third last year in the British Open, missed the cut with rounds of 75 and 71. Colombia’s Camilo Villegas also missed the cut, following his opening 72 with a 71.
The ACE Group Classic
NAPLES, Fla. — Vicente Fernandez and Don Pooley shot 4-under 68s to share the first-round lead in The ACE Group Classic, while Jay Haas finished a stroke back after a two-stroke penalty for hitting a piece of pine straw in a hazard.
After hitting out of the hazard, Haas said it crossed his mind that touching the pine straw on his backswing might be a penalty for moving loose impediments in a hazard. Haas hit his fourth shot to 2 feet, but then missed the putt.
On the next hole, Haas talked to a rules official, who returned two holes later and told Haas that it was indeed a two-stroke penalty.
Wayne Levi matched Haas with a 69 on the new TPC Treviso Bay, and Bernhard Langer, Loren Roberts, Gene Jones, Dan Forsman, Fulton Allem, Mike Goodes and Jim Chancey opened with 70s. Goodes won Allianz Championship on Sunday for his first Champions Tour victory. Chancey made it into the field as a Monday qualifier.
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