Woods, Mickelson stalk leaders

Canadian Mike Weir moved into a tie for the Deutsche Bank Championship lead but it was Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods who grabbed the spotlight with a magical display of shot-making.

Mickelson and Woods, playing together in a high-profile grouping with Vijay Singh, fired sparkling seven-under-par 64s, the lowest scores in the second round, to surge into contention at the TPC Boston.
   
Left-hander Mickelson twice chipped in, for birdie on 15 and for eagle at the par-five 18th, on his way to an eight-under total of 134, just one off the pace.
   
World number one Woods, grouped with Mickelson and Singh this week for the first time in a PGA Tour event, covered his last eight holes in six under to finish a further two shots adrift.
   
Woods, champion last year, rolled in a 33-footer to eagle the par-four fourth before ending a breezy day at six under in the second leg of the inaugural four-event FedExCup playoff series.
   
Left-hander Weir, who needs to finish no worse than fifth to qualify for next week's tournament in Chicago, had forged two strokes clear before bogeying his last two holes for a 68.
   
That left him at nine under and level with Australia's Aaron Baddeley (66) and American Rich Beem, who birdied the last four holes for a 66.
   
Mickelson, hunting his third title of the year, was a further shot back in a tie for fourth with fellow Americans Sean O'Hair (66), Brett Wetterich (68) and Ryan Moore (69).
   
"Today was a lot of fun," Mickelson told reporters after charging up the leaderboard with five birdies and one eagle in his lowest round of the year. "This is what we were hoping for yesterday but you can't get it going all the time.
   
"It was actually a little more challenging today with the cooler air and the breeze but the greens were so perfect you felt you could make lots of putts.
   
"I just sensed that everybody was going to come out ready today," added the three-times major winner, who opened with a 70.
   
"We all needed a good round to get back into the tournament, and that's what we ended up doing."
   
Fijian Singh, the 2004 champion, followed his first-round 74 with a 66 while Woods mounted his charge with six birdies, an eagle and a solitary bogey at the par-four first.
   
The "Big Three," who attracted huge, appreciative galleries for their morning round, were a collective 19 under par for the day.

"Feel-wise, I hit the ball about the same today, I just made a lot more putts," Woods said after improving on his opening 72.
   
"It was nice to get the putter rolling and I caught fire on the back nine. The whole idea was for me to get something around three or four under par today. Now I'm back in the tournament."
   
Overnight leader Camilo Villegas of Colombia slipped back into a five-way tie for eighth place at seven under after returning a 72.
   
The cut fell at one-over 143 with 75 players advancing into the last two rounds. Among those missing out were British Open champion Padraig Harrington and double US Open winner Retief Goosen.
   
Players are competing this week for points in addition to an overall purse of $7 million and a winner's cheque for $1.26 million.
   
The leading 70 on the FedExCup points list after the tournament ends on Monday qualify for next week's BMW Championship outside Chicago.
   
The top 30 in the standings will then qualify for the September 13-16 Tour Championship in Atlanta where a $10 million annuity bonus in deferred compensation will be earned by the overall points champion.