MIAMI, March 5 -- As Phil Mickelson's second shot 9-iron thudded onto the putting surface at the seventh hole Saturday and stopped three feet from the pin to set up his third consecutive birdie, his longtime teacher Rick Smith gushed from behind the spectator ropes, "He's playing in a different world right now."
For his 10th straight round of stroke play, Mickelson finished the day atop the leader board, his 6-under 66 leaving him at 20-under 196 after three rounds of the Ford Championship. Mickelson knew he would have to make birdies in bunches on Doral's Blue Monster course to stay ahead of the strongest full field of the season, and during Sunday's final round, he won't need help staying focused. He is paired with Tiger Woods in the day's final group.
"I've been looking forward to the chance of playing head to head against him," Phil Mickelson said of his final-round pairing with Tiger Woods.
(Steve Mitchell -- AP)
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Now ranked No. 2 in the world behind Vijay Singh, Woods had six birdies in an eight-hole stretch in the middle of his round Saturday and finished with a 9-under 63 that left him two shots behind Mickelson.
"To play against one of the best players the game has ever seen, it's not just a physical challenge, it's a mental one, too," Mickelson said. "I've been looking forward to the chance of playing head to head against him. For me to win tomorrow, I'll have to shoot really, really low, because Tiger always makes birdies when he has to."
Woods was pumping his fist and celebrating all those birdies with great gusto, looking very much like the man who won eight major championships in his first six full seasons as a professional.
"Yeah, it was pretty cool," Woods said. "I talked to my dad [in Los Angeles] this morning, woke his butt up, which was nice. I was the first one to wish him a happy [73rd] birthday; he didn't even know it was his own birthday. I promised him today 'I would shoot a low one for you. I promise you one thing, I won't shoot your age.' . . . If I had a chance, I would dump it in the water, so I wouldn't shoot his age."
While Mickelson will be trying to win his third straight stroke-play event, Woods also has plenty of incentive Sunday in addition to the $990,000 first place check. If he wins, he'll regain the No. 1 world ranking over Vijay Singh. If Woods finishes alone in second, he'll also move back to the top spot if Singh finishes outside the top five. Singh had a 68 -- 203 and ended the day in a tie for sixth, seven off the lead.
Three players, including former University of Virginia golfer James Driscoll, were tied for third at 14-under 202. But the swirling galleries were mostly abuzz with the spectacular play of Mickelson and Woods, who shot a back nine of 6-under 30, with six birdies and no bogeys.
At the 372-yard 16th hole, a dogleg left that plays shorter for anyone daring to hit a drive over water down the left side, Woods pounded his tee shot 330 yards, drawing a booming roar when it landed on the green. He two-putted from 45 feet for the eighth birdie.
He finished with one last birdie at the 467-yard 18th, considered by many the toughest finishing hole on the PGA Tour. Woods again cut distance to the green by flying his drive over the water down the left side, and his 310-yard blast landed him in perfect position. He hit a punched wedge to within six feet and made the putt, lifting his right arm in celebration almost as soon as he struck the ball.
"It was fun to put the ball where I wanted to on each and every shot," Woods said. "Boy, I hit just a lot of good golf shots."
Mickelson had trouble finding the fairway again Saturday, but he's hitting the ball so far off the tee with his new driver, he's hitting almost all of his second shots with a wedge or 9-iron. Thus he was able to respond to nearly all of the heroics Woods was performing three holes ahead of him.
Woods's birdie at the 18th cut Mickelson's lead to a single shot until Mickelson made his own critical birdie with a six-foot putt at the 16th. At the 419-yard 17th, Mickelson's 9-iron from the deep grass down the left side went into a greenside bunker, but he blasted his third to within a foot for a par that maintained the two-shot advantage.
At the 18th, Mickelson hooked his drive into the gallery down the right side, but got a nice break when the ball came to rest on trampled down grass with a clear shot into the green from 192 yards out. His second shot left a 15-footer, and he two putted for his second straight 66.
Mickelson and Woods played together as partners on the U.S. team in the Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills and lost both their matches last September. They were last in the final group of a stroke play tournament in the final round of the 2003 Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines in San Diego along with Brad Faxon. Woods won, shooting 68 to 72s posted by Mickelson and Faxon.
Despite both men insisting publicly they have a mutual respect for each other's games, they have never been good friends away from the golf course.
Still, Mickelson insisted, "It should be a fun day. What a round Tiger put together today, my goodness. It's hard not to notice when you look on the leader board, and he's one lower every time. . . . . You just never know what he's going to do. He's an amazing competitor and he just finds a way to get things done. . . . So tomorrow is going to be a fun day for me, win, lose or draw."
