LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) _ Phil Mickelson expects Joe Ogilvie to win a tournament any day now. He just hopes it's not this Sunday. <br/><br/>Mickelson, going for his second consecutive Bob Hope Chrysler
Friday, January 28th 2005, 8:44 am
By: News On 6
LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) _ Phil Mickelson expects Joe Ogilvie to win a tournament any day now. He just hopes it's not this Sunday.
Mickelson, going for his second consecutive Bob Hope Chrysler Classic win and third in four years, is three shots behind Ogilvie heading into the third round of the five-day tournament.
Ogilvie shot a 9-under 63 on Thursday to go to 17-under 127 through two rounds. Mickelson had a 64 and was tied for second with Fredrik Jacobson of Sweden, who had a 62.
Mickelson thinks Ogilvie is due.
``I thought he was going to win New Orleans last year, the way he played,'' Mickelson said. ``He lost by a shot to a very hot Vijay Singh, but I think he's ready to win now.
``It's going to take all I can do to fight him off.''
Ogilvie, whose tie for second at New Orleans last year was his best finish on the tour, was not conceding that he was the second-round leader of the Hope.
Players rotate among four courses the first four days of the 90-hole event, with some of the layouts more difficult.
``Mickelson shot a 64 today at La Quinta,'' said Ogilvie, who had his 63 at Bermuda Dunes. ``I'd say technically he's probably leading. Score-wise, I am, but technically I'd say he's leading.
``That's Duke math,'' the former economics major said, grinning.
Mickelson summed it up differently.
``I feel like I'm three back,'' he said.
Fred Couples and Billy Mayfair were in a group of five at 13 under, four shots off the pace. Couples had a 66 and Mayfair a 64.
Ogilvie began the tournament with a 64 and was at 127 for two rounds. His 17 under is the third-most shots below par through 36 holes in PGA Tour history.
Tom Lehman was 19 under after two rounds at Las Vegas in 2001, after Joe Durant was 18 under 36 holes on his way to winning the Hope earlier that year. Lehman's 125 tied him with Tiger Woods and Mark Calcavecchia for low 36-hole score, with Woods' coming on a par-70 course and Calcavecchia's on a par-71 layout.
Ogilvie, 30, wasn't surprised by the low total through two rounds of the Hope this time, although he chuckled and said, ``I'm just surprised that I did it.
``You look at the history of golf _ I don't think I'm going to be in any encyclopedias of golf,'' he said.
Ogilvie finished his round with a gamble that paid off on No. 18, lofting a 5-wood over palm trees to within 5 feet of the pin and then rolling in the eagle putt.
He's coming off his most successful year on the tour, with the $1.4 million he earned in 2004 more than his previous four years combined.
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