McCarron takes charge, Mickelson surrenders lead

PACIFIC PALISADES, California (Reuters) - Phil Mickelson paid the penalty for some wayward driving in the second round of the Northern Trust Open on Friday as fellow American Scott McCarron edged two strokes clear of the pack.

Left-hander Mickelson, the defending champion, hit only five fairways out of 14 on his way to a one-over-par 72 at Riviera Country Club, sliding back into a six-way tie for fourth place.

Having surged a stroke in front with a blistering 63 in the opening round and then two ahead after eagling the first, Mickelson piled up four bogeys and a birdie for a seven-under total of 135.

That left him three shots behind McCarron, who rolled in an eight-foot birdie putt at the par-four last for a 68.

Americans Steve Stricker (66) and Tommy Armor III (67) were tied for second at eight under after taking advantage of ideal scoring conditions in the morning.

"I didn't play very well today but this is the first time (this year) I'm in contention heading into the weekend and I'm excited about it," Mickelson told reporters of his bid for a 35th PGA Tour title.

"Obviously I've got to get things turned around. I didn't hit it very well today and hopefully I'll have a chance to hook up with (swing coach) Butch (Harmon) and see if we can get it ironed out.

"I drove it poorly," added the world number five, who totaled 34 putts after needing only 22 in the first round.

"I didn't hit very good iron shots but I actually putted very well today. I just didn't make a lot.

WORK TO DO

"A lot of them (putts) caught the lip but I started them on the line I wanted with the speed. So I didn't feel bad about the putting but I have some work to do on the full swing."

Mickelson, who rammed in a 28-footer to eagle the opening hole, ended the day level with Australian Geoff Ogilvy (67), South Korean K.J. Choi (69), American Pat Perez (66), South African Rory Sabbatini (67) and Britain's Luke Donald (69).

McCarron, a stroke off the pace overnight, stayed in touch with the lead after a topsy-turvy front nine of one-under 34.

He forged one ahead after a superb tee shot to three feet at the par-three 14th set up his fourth birdie of the day before finishing in style with another at the last.

"I feel real good," said McCarron, who won the last of his three PGA Tour titles at the 2001 BellSouth Classic.

"I thought the golf course played a little bit tougher today with the greens starting to firm up. It was difficult getting the balls close and tougher to make putts.

"But I played real solid today," added the American, who has played Riviera since his university days at nearby UCLA. "A couple of bogeys I would like to have back but, overall, I'm very, very happy."

The cut fell at one-under 141 with 75 players qualifying for the weekend.

Among those missing out were Irish world number three Padraig Harrington, fourth-ranked Fijian Vijay Singh and Japanese teenage sensation Ryo Ishikawa.

(Editing by John O'Brien)