Mickelson sits one shot out of lead at BellSouth

DULUTH, Ga. -- Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Ernie Els skipped the BellSouth Classic to focus on the Masters. Not Phil Mickelson.

Tuning up for his Masters defense, Mickelson shot a 7-under 65 on Sunday to move within a stroke of leader Scott McCarron with one round to play in the rain-delayed BellSouth Classic.

McCarron, the 1997 and 2001 winner at the TPC at Sugarloaf, shot his second straight 69 for a 6-under 138 total on the Greg Norman-designed course.

Mickelson, the No. 4 player in the world and a two-time winner this season, had the best round of the tournament as conditions improved with sun, temperatures in the low 60s and wind of 15-20 mph. He holed a 26-yard pitch for eagle on the 310-yard, par-4 13th, and had six birdies and a bogey in the round.

"I love playing the week before a major and I love how this tournament has set the course up as close as Augusta as possible," Mickelson said.

"The greens are the same, the areas around the greens are the same. I think that it's a great place to start hitting the shots that I will need to hit at the Masters." Mickelson opened the day tied for 61st after a 74 on Saturday in the opening round that was plagued by rain, sleet, snow and 40 mph wind. Rain washed out play on Thursday and Friday, forcing PGA Tour officials to shorten the tournament to 54 holes and push the finish back to Monday.

"I knew I needed to do something. I was fortunate to be able to do it and at least have a chance going into tomorrow," Mickelson said. "Being within one of the lead heading into tomorrow should be a fun opportunity to try to win this tournament."

Jose Maria Olazabal (69) and first-round co-leader Billy Mayfair (69) matched Mickelson at 5 under, and Arron Oberholser (68), Tag Ridings (68), Brian Bateman (68), Joey Snyder III (69) and Rich Beem (70) were 4 under.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen (69) was 3 under in a group that included defending champion Zach Johnson (66).

Mickelson is one of the 19 players remaining in the field who will play in the Masters, beginning Thursday at Augusta National. Six others withdrew, including Stuart Appleby and Chris DiMarco, without ever hitting a shot.

It was never a thought for Mickelson.

"I enjoy being able to play a competitive round closer to the start of the Masters," Mickelson said. "When you don't have a chance to practice for a couple of days, I understand why some guys pulled out. It's individual preference."

Mickelson practiced for 10 hours at Augusta on Tuesday.

McCarron, who has won only one other tournament away from this course, can't explain his success here.

"It's a golf course that I really love," McCarron said. "I look forward to coming here. Certainly winning twice, but I've missed the cut a few times here, too. I've played good and I've played not so good."

Olazabal had a 40 on the front, including a triple bogey on the 248-yard, par-3 eighth when he had a two-shot penalty. He shot a 29 on the back, including an eagle 2 on No. 13 when he chipped in from 15 yards and three straight birdies to end his round.

"Well, it's been a kind of a special one or a strange one, call it whatever you want," said Olazabal, a two-time Masters champion.

The triple bogey came when he hit his tee shot into the right bunker. His second shot went outside the bunker, then trickled back in and was still rolling when his club hit the sand.

"The ball pitched outside the bunker and then came back in," Olazabal said. "By then I already hit the sand with my club, so it was a two-stroke penalty."

He said he didn't bang his club in frustration.

"Not really, I think more a reflex than anything else," Olazabal said. "Let's put it this way, the club fell from my hands."

There were still 33 players on the course when play was suspended by darkness. The cut, which will come after those players complete their rounds Monday morning, is expected to be at 2 over.

Rain has affected eight of the 14 PGA Tour events so far this year.