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SAN DIEGO -- Jordan Spieth turned out to be the star attraction Friday playing with Tiger Woods at Torrey Pines. Patriots Online Store . Spieth again showed game well beyond his 20 years with a 9-under 63 on the North Course, giving him a one-shot lead over Stewart Cink going into the weekend at the Farmers Insurance Open. Cink drilled a 3-wood from 280 yards onto the green at the par-5 ninth on the tougher South Course for a two-putt birdie and a 71. Woods rarely gets upstaged at Torrey Pines, where his eight professional wins include the 2008 U.S. Open. But in his first competition in six weeks, Woods hardly looked the part as the defending champion. He did not make birdie on any of the par 5s for the second straight day, and a three-putt bogey on the par-5 ninth hole on the North gave him a 71. He was nine shots behind. Phil Mickelsons ailing back wasnt much better and he withdrew Friday night because of muscle pain. Mickelson shot a 1-over 73 on the South Course in the second round, leaving him eight strokes behind Spieth. Mickelson said after the round that he feared getting into bad habits by altering his swing to keep his back from hurting. This is hometown tournament and he said he wanted to keep playing. His management company released a statement late Friday evening that Mickelson had decided to withdraw. Mickelson said he would talk to doctors to figure out the best course of action. Hes scheduled to defend his title next week in the Phoenix Open. Ottawas Brad Fritsch shot 70 to jump into a tie for 11th place. It was the first time Spieth has played with Woods in a tournament -- they played a practice round together at the Presidents Cup last fall -- and the Texan felt and played as if it was any other round on the PGA Tour. Then again, the first time he played with Mickelson, Spieth closed with a 62 at the TPC Boston last year, a round that led Mickelson to call Presidents Cup captain Fred Couples and lobby for Spieth to be picked for the team. In both cases, Spieth was more interested with the score than the audience. "Any time you can shoot a lower score than a 66 or 65 and you can really get it deep and be in a zone and not worry about what your score is ... thats special," Spieth said. "Thats proving that I can play my best golf when it matters on a PGA Tour venue. Each time you can do that, you get more and more confident that you can do it more often." As for playing with Woods? He only shrugged. Spieth grew up watching, idolizing and being amazed by Woods. But this was only a Friday. "They were both rounds that I needed to move up the leaderboard," he said about playing with Woods this week and Mickelson last year. "They werent in the last couple groups on Sunday, so they werent to win. They were to get myself up and in a position." Spieth was at 10-under 134 and will be in the last group Saturday with Cink and Nicolas Colsaerts, who shot 67 on the South and was two shots behind. "Im looking forward to playing with Jordan. Ive never seen him hit a ball, so that will be fun," Cink said. "Its always exciting to see the young guys play. Im playing really well. Im really excited about golf right now and the way Im playing. Im having some fun out there and seeing a lot of good things." The final two rounds will be on the South, which is about 600 yards longer and on Friday played more than 4 1/2 shots harder. Spieth didnt hit the ball better than his opening-round 71 on the South. His putter made the difference. He rolled in a bending 18-foot birdie putt on the 10th hole and his confidence grew up there. He avoided a three-putt on the 17th by making a 15-footer for par, and he really took off down the stretch. He holed another sidehill birdie putt on the par-3 sixth from about 20 feet, and he made a 15-footer for his final birdie on the eighth hole. The rest of his birdie putts were inside 4 feet. "The kids got talent," Woods said. "He hits it a long way, phenomenal putter. He made a boat load of putts today from the 10- to 20-foot range, and on poa greens, thats not easy to do. He was pouring them in there. He had speed to them, too. Thats what you have to do to putt on poa. "He putted with a lot of confidence." That wasnt the case for Woods, whose only birdies came on his opening hole and on his sixth hole, a flip wedge to 4 feet. He didnt feel like he was off by much, but thats all it took. The course is set up in such a way that the thickest grass is just off the fairway. "I wouldnt say its rusty," Woods said. "I was just a fraction off, and at this level and on golf courses like this, if youre just a fraction off it doesnt take much, especially as tight as the North Course is. I had so many balls that landed in the fairway that went in the rough. Now I cant be aggressive, Ive got to play conservative into some of these flags. When you should be able to fire at some of these flags, I just couldnt." The cut was at even-par 144, and 83 players advanced. There will be another cut to top 70 and ties after the third round. Woods wasnt ruling himself out just yet. He remembered the time he made the cut by two shots in 1999, and then had a 62-65 weekend to win by two shots. But that was before the South Course was lengthened. No had better than 67 the first two days this week on the South. Sealver Siliga Jersey .com) - Alabama and Florida State were predictably the top two teams in the latest installment of the BCS standings. Shane Vereen Blue Jersey . - Wednesdays lightweight bout between Canadian Sam (Hands of Stone) Stout and K.MIAMI -- The NFLs report in the Miami Dolphins bullying case is expected to be released soon, shedding further light on the much-scrutinized, troubled relationship between offensive linemen Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito. The report likely will address whether the Dolphins organization was at fault for the locker-room culture that led Martin to leave the team last October. He later said he was harassed daily by teammates, including Incognito, and alleged their racial, aggressive and sexually charged comments played a role in his departure. Incognitos suspension by the team was lifted Tuesday. Dolphins officials say that was an administrative move agreed to by all parties last year, and had nothing to do with any new developments in the league investigation of the case. Last week, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said he has an idea of what will be in the leagues report, and indicated he doesnt expect any new revelations. He said hes proud of the way the people running the franchise responded to the scandal. Martin has said he tried to be friends with Incognito. The two players traded more a thousand text messages in a years span, and the teasing and vulgar banter went both ways, with references to sex, drugs, violence and bawdy behaviour, often in a jocular tone. The back-and-forth continued last week. In his first interview since the scandal broke, Martin told NBC persistent vulgar language around the team made him feel trapped. Incognitos attorney Mark Schamel responded with a statement saying Martin was "hiding behind false allegations" rather than dealing with "his poor on-field performance and myriad other issues." The NFL report will come from New York attorney Ted Wells three months after he was retained by the league to investigate the case, which inspired a national debate about hazing and workplace bullying. Wells will determine the role of coach Joe Philbin, his staff and Miami management in the case. One issue is whether anyone on the coaching staff ordered Incognito to toughen up Martinn, who became a starter as a rookie in 2012 but played poorly at times. Tom Brady Red Jersey. . Martin has said people in the organization knew he was unhappy about comments teammates made to him, but he didnt talk to Philbin about it. The 6-foot-5, 312-pound Martin abruptly left the team Oct. 28. He was briefly hospitalized and then joined his family in California and underwent counselling for emotional issues. Incognito was suspended Nov. 3 and sat out the final eight games. Both players have said they want to play in 2014, but it likely wont be with the Dolphins. Incognito becomes a free agent next month and will probably sign with another team, and Dolphins are expected to trade or release Martin, who has two years remaining on his contract. In a tweet Tuesday, Incognito said he supported Martin "100 per cent in his return to football in 2014." Teammates said the two linemen seemed to be good friends, despite their contrasting backgrounds. Martin, 24, was a classics major at Stanford, while Incognito, 30, was kicked off his team at Nebraska and went on to develop a reputation as one of the NFLs dirtiest players known for out-of-bounds behaviour. Incognito has said he regrets racist and profane language he used with Martin, but said it stemmed from a culture of locker-room "brotherhood," not bullying. Incognito is white and Martin is black. Teammates both black and white have said Incognito is not a racist, and theyve been more supportive of the veteran guard than they have of Martin. In November there were reports that Ross might clean house after the season. But Philbin was retained to return for a third season in 2014, and most of his staff remains, including offensive line coach Jim Turner, who worked most closely with Incognito and Martin. "Jim Turner is an amazing coach and friend," Incognito tweeted Tuesday. General manager Jeff Ireland left the Dolphins in January after six seasons because of the teams mediocre results, and because he clashed with Philbin over personnel decisions. cheap jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' ' |
