Los Angeles • Four days after his big win at Pebble Beach, Phil Mickelson keeps right on rolling.
Mickelson hit driver off the deck from just under 300 yards on the par-5 11th that led to a two-putt birdie, and he ended a gorgeous afternoon Thursday at Riviera by chipping in from 35 feet for birdie. That gave him a 5-under 66 and a one-shot lead in the Northern Trust Open.
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Golf leaderboard
Northern Trust Open
Phil Mickelson -5
J.B. Holmes -4
Hunter Mahan -4
Jonathan Byrd -3
Carl Pettersson -3
Note: 30 players did not finish
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Dating to the back nine of his second round at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Mickelson has made birdie or eagle on one-third of the holes he has played. And his streak of consecutive holes without a bogey finally ended at 49 on the par-3 16th.
No matter. He looked good with the putter and with his low, penetrating tee shots that he kept below the tree line on a windy day that prevented low scoring.
J.B. Holmes, in his fourth tournament since returning from brain surgery in September, played his final six holes without a par. His round ended with a 315-yard tee shot — a big drive in the cool air of Los Angeles in February — and an approach to 8 feet for birdie at No. 9, the second-toughest hole at Riviera.
That gave him a 4-under 67. He was tied with Hunter Mahan.
They all played in the afternoon, when the wind began to die late in the day.
Jonathan Byrd, who faced the chilly, blustery conditions of the morning, had a 68. He was joined by Carl Pettersson.
The first round was suspended by darkness with 30 players yet to finish the round, a typical occurrence at this tournament with 144-man field and limited daylight.
Mickelson is coming off an 8-under 64 in the final round at Pebble Beach, where he rallied from a six-shot deficit — and beat playing partner Tiger Woods by 11 shots — to change the outlook on his West Coast Swing. Riviera is his final tournament before the tour moves to Florida.
LPGA Thailand
Japan’s Ai Miyazato shot a bogey-free 5-under 67 in warm and humid conditions to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the LPGA Thailand at Pattaya, Thailand.
Miyazato won the 2010 tournament on the Old Course at Siam Country Club.
Karrie Webb, Na Yeon Choi, Se Ri Pak, Anna Nordqvist and Amy Yang were a stroke back.
Paula Creamer had a hole-in-one on the 146-yard 12th hole in her 72.
Top-ranked Yani Tseng, the defending champion, opened with a 73.
Michelle Wie had a 75 in her first tournament round of the year.
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