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SAN DIEGO -- Jordan Spieth turned out to be the star attraction Friday playing with Tiger Woods at Torrey Pines. K.J. Wright Womens Jersey . 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. Steven Hauschka Jersey . The Basque club improved to four points better than fifth-place Villarreal in the duel for the last Champions League qualifying place. Celta should have come away with more from the high tempo game. Shaun Alexander Jersey . -- Connor Brown had two goals and an assist as the Erie Otters edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action.LAS VEGAS -- Abner Mares won the IBF bantamweight championship Saturday night, beating Joseph Agbeko by a controversial majority decision. Mares appeared to land a number of illegal low blows, but referee Russell Mora never deducted a point in the Showtime bantamweight tournament final. In the 11th round, Agbeko was sent to the canvas on an apparent low blow that Mora immediately ruled a knockdown. Two judges scored the bout 115-111 for Mares, while the other had it even at 113. Despite the controversy, it was an exciting fight in which the fighters exchanged blows throughout the 12 rounds. Mares knocked Agbeko off balance and through the ropes with a left hook behind the ear in the first round. He was the aggressor through the first two rounds and seemed to be the stronger fighter, landing numerous power shots. Kam Chancellor Womens Jersey. Agbeko began to work his jab effectively and staggered Mares in the fourth round with a solid straight right cross. Agbeko became the aggressor from that moment, pushing the pace and continually backing up Mares. On the undercard, former WBA flyweight champion Eric Morel won his 10th consecutive fight when journeyman Daniel Quevedo was unable to answer the bell for the fifth round. Morel has not lost since 2005. Heavyweight Eric Molina improved his record to 18-1 with a third-round technical knockout of Warren Browning. Molina has won 18 straight after dropping his pro debut. In the preliminary fights, lightweight prospect Angelo Santana remained undefeated with a second-round TKO over previously unbeaten Ramzan Adaev. Carlos Molina fought Juan Manuel Montiel to a draw. cheap jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' ' |
