Lehman Cools Off, but Still Leads Pack

Tom Lehman cooled off just in time to put some suspense back into the Phoenix Open.

Lehman, who shot an eight-under-par 63 in the first round and shared a three-stroke lead with Phil Mickelson going into the second, followed up with a 67 on Friday at Scottsdale, Ariz.

He leveled off after birdies on three of the first five holes, allowing Frank Lickliter to stay within one stroke. Lehman finished with four consecutive pars, holing out in deep twilight on No. 18.

“My main objective on the 18th was just to make sure I finished strong,” he said. “Because it was dark, I didn’t want to make a mistake. I was very satisfied with a par there.”

Lickliter carded a 64, reaching the midpoint at 11-under 131 and feeling confident about his chances of picking up what would be his first PGA Tour victory.

“If I keep putting myself in this position, Rocco Mediate keeps telling me I’ll win by accident--I’ll birdie the last three holes or someone will bogey the last three holes, or something,” Lickliter said. “I feel like I keep getting better every year.”

Hal Sutton, Robert Allenby and Bradley Hughes were four shots off the pace at 134, with Steve Flesch and Stewart Cink one shot behind them.

Mickelson, who won the Phoenix Open four years ago, shot a 73 and backed into a five-way tie at 136 with Tom Pernice Jr., Kenny Perry, Paul Stankowski and 1993 champion Lee Janzen.

Frost delayed the start of play for 30 minutes in the morning, and darkness forced the suspension of play with 21 players still on the course.

That kept the PGA from announcing the cut pending completion of the round this morning.

It was projected at 142, with 65 players who finished the round at par or lower.

Mediate (137), the defending champion, 1998 winner Jesper Parnevik (138) and 1997 Phoenix winner Steve Jones (139) easily qualified to play the weekend.

Paul Azinger, the 1987 Phoenix winner and the winner two weeks ago in Honolulu, was likely to miss the cut after rounds of 76 and 70.

Noted newcomers Sergio Garcia and Gary Nicklaus, son of Jack Nicklaus, also were at 146.

Lehman’s approach shots were uncanny. He had birdie putts of eight, 10 and 10 feet on Nos. 2, 3 and 5, birdied No. 10 from four feet and got his fifth birdie on the 13th hole with an eight-foot putt.

At the 14th hole, he made his only bogey of the tournament after lofting an eight-iron to the back of the green, leaving the chip five feet short and missing the par putt.

“I definitely feel like I’m in great position,” said Lehman, who won $1 million in the Williams World Challenge on Jan. 2 and tied for sixth in Honolulu, his only official PGA event before this week.

Lickliter, who shot a career-low 62 in a round at Honolulu, had five birdies and an easy eagle-three on the 501-yard 15th hole.