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GOLF RESOURCE GUIDE:
Northern Trust Open
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The 2010 PGA Tour season began with talk that world No. 2 Phil Mickelson could play well enough to eventually surpass Tiger Woods as the top golfer in the official rankings. When the final putt drops in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club, Mickelson’s ranking indeed might change — but for the worse. That’s because Steve Stricker, No. 3 in the Official World Golf Rankings, has a five-shot lead on the field with four holes remaining in his third round. If Stricker goes on to win and Mickelson fails to finish in the top five — he begins his final round tied for 19th after an even-par 71 Saturday — Stricker will move to second and Mickelson will slide to third. After completing the second round Saturday morning tied with Dustin Johnson atop the leaderboard, Stricker pulled ahead on the third hole when Johnson lost his tee shot in thick rough and had to settle for a double bogey. Stricker didn’t look back, widening his lead with birdies on the sixth, eighth and 10th holes. “I was just trying to do my own thing,” said Stricker, “and put the blinders on and hit the shots that I needed to hit and try to do what I've been doing the last couple of days.” Helping him and other players in that endeavor was more amicable weather. It still rained Saturday, just not as much as it did Friday, and it was warmer. “It was a blessing that we got the great weather, and it felt like 70 degrees and no wind there for a while,” Stricker said. “It wasn't, but compared to yesterday, it was great.” Luke Donald, J.B. Holmes and Andres Romero are closest to the lead at 9-under par — Donald and Holmes have finished their third rounds while Romero has four holes remaining. Johnson is in a tie for fifth at 8-under along with USC alumnus Kevin Stadler and George McNeill. Los Angeles native Anthony Kim faltered with bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes after recording four birdies and no miscues through the first 14 holes. With one hole remaining in his third round, he is tied for eighth at 7-under par with Alex Prugh, Steve Marino and New Zealand’s Tim Wilkinson. For a complete leaderboard, visit PGATour.com. Check back to Southland Golf throughout the week for more coverage of the Northern Trust Open. ALSO SEE: Johnson, Stricker tied for lead at rain-soaked Riviera Johnson shoots 64 to grab early Northern Trust Open lead Fast facts on Northern Trust Open |
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