Mickelson keeps it together

GOLF:Given what had gone before, yesterday at the TPC at Sawgrass was, as your granny would say, "a pet day".

But even on such summery days, this course - artificially fast and firm, courtesy of modern technology's underground vacuum system - doesn't allow for a wandering mind or for loose shot-making and its demands were emphasised by the nature of the leaderboard at the midway juncture of The Players championship which became as congested as the M50 at rush hour.

On a day of contrasts, the two overnight leaders experienced fluctuating fortunes. While Phil Mickelson rolled in a 10-footer for eagle on the 16th to return to where he had started the day on five-under, which left him alone in the lead, South African Rory Sabbatini fell faster than an anchor plunging into the sea in a birdie-less round that was cruelly made worse by his experiences on the 17th, where he was twice in the water in recording a seven that left him on two-over for the championship, seven shots worse than he had started out.

For much of the day, world number one Tiger Woods too had experienced another frustrating day, however a birdie on the 16th, followed by two safe pars, enabled him to get in on the cut mark of 148, four over par.

With Mickelson, who had a difficult day with his driving, salvaging his round with a late eagle to stay at the top of the leaderboard, the chase was led by Australian Nathan Green, who shot a 69 for 140.

The quartet of Sean O'Hair, Peter Lonard, Carl Pettersson and Rod Pampling all in the clubhouse on the 141 mark.

Green, more than anyone, knows the odds are stacked against him staying there. Although he made a breakthrough win on the European Tour last season, winning the New Zealand Open, Green has never won on the US Tour and all the he had to do was look over his shoulder at the big guns in pursuit - all the way down to a certain Woods - to know that greater challenges lie ahead over the weekend.

"This year, I don't know, I feel I've sort of taken a step back," admitted Green, whose best performance on the US Tour this season is tied-12th at the PODS Championship.

"I've struggled to get into contention and struggled to keep rounds going when I've got close to being in the mix. It's sort of been a tough year."

On Thursday, when winds gusted up to 40 miles per hour, a record 50 balls were plonked into lake that surrounds the island green on the par three 17th.

Yesterday, a much calmer day, there was not so much calamity, apart from Sabbatini.

And, yet, despite players like Jose Maria Olazabal - who revitalised his challenge with a round of 66 - providing proof that the course could be conquered, the majority of players threaded warily.

"This is a golf course where you have to strike the ball well," Olazabal said. "If you're not striking it well, you're going to struggle big-time. There are no bail-outs, which is why this course is one of the best we play all year round. The guy that wins here must have done a lot of things good."

Olazabal's sentiment was echoed by Jim Furyk, who had played majestic golf for much of his second round only to falter coming in, dropping three shots in his last three holes but still very much in the thick of the action on 143, one under.

"If you keep the ball in front of you, put it on the fairway and put it on the green somewhere, you can score . . . but, if you get off the beaten path a little bit, out of the fairway and especially around the greens, you're absolutely in jail. There isn't a lot of room for error."

On a day when, finally, the sun broke through clouds that had been fed by the fumes of brush fires in other parts of Florida, the Spaniard's powers of recuperation were unsurpassed.

Level par on the day after six holes, and six-over and destined for an early plane trip home, Olazabal's response was to cover the remaining 12 holes in six-under, the six birdies coming in a purple patch from the 16th, his seventh, to the fourth. Six birdies in seven holes.

"I had a wonderful run," the twice Masters champion told reporters after a round that included a chip-in for birdie at the par-three third.

"I didn't hit the ball much different from yesterday but I managed to keep the ball in play off the tee. When those putts go in, it makes the difference."

The 23-time European Tour winner made a stumbling start after teeing off at the 10th, bogeying the first hole after finding the left bunker off the tee.

"I was looking to that long flight back home, to be honest," he said after his early error dropped him to seven over for the tournament. "It didn't look very good. But it was early in the day and it was a good thing I birdied 11 straight away and also 13."

While Olazabal played his way not only to safety, but also back into the tournament, Dubliner Padraig Harrington also made a serious improvement from outside the cut to register a second round 70 for 146, two over.

It could have been even better for Harrington, but for a three-putt bogey (the first putt from just five feet) on his finishing hole. "I feel I'm swinging the club much better than last week, but still not as sharp as I would like," admitted Harrington who, nevertheless, survived the cut knowing that the leaderboard ahead of him is so clogged that a significant charge over the weekend was definitely possible.

Pettersson, however, assumed the mantle of leading the European challenge. The Swede shot a 71, for 141, and is determined to improve on his eighth-place finish of a year ago.

The congested nature of the field, though, means that, quite literally, it is all to play for over the weekend.