Mickelson, Furyk help clear things up at Pebble

Appropriately attired in an all-black ensemble that closely resembled a storm front, Phil Mickelson observed the occasional rain with an occasional birdie, signed a soggy scorecard for a seven-under-par 65 and moved into unfamiliar territory -- at least this year.

That would be the lead, or a share of it, which is what Mickelson and Jim Furyk had after Friday’s second round of the AT&T; Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

True, it has been a downright unful-Phil-ing start to Mickelson’s season, but he’s 12 under here, his putts are beginning to fall and the dark clouds trailing him seem to be parting.

Something of the same is true for Furyk, playing for the first time in a month, popping a 65 at Poppy Hills, and managing to transform the tournament into a glamour show instead of a disconnected bunch of weather updates.

There’s Mickelson, a three-time major winner, with former U.S. Open champion Furyk, and then former PGA Championship winner Davis Love III, who shot a 67 at Pebble Beach, all of them squarely in the mix in this $5.5-million exercise in patience, focus, 6 1/2 -hour rounds, cold rain and 180 amateurs chopping up some of the most expensive sections of Monterey Peninsula real estate.

And as an added attraction, only six shots behind and tied for eighth is none other than 57-year-old Tom Watson, winner of eight major championships. Watson shot a four-under 68 at Pebble Beach, including a birdie at the 17th, the same hole where he chipped in to clinch the 1982 U.S. Open over Jack Nicklaus.

Mickelson, who had eagled his finishing hole Thursday at Poppy Hills, birdied his last hole Friday at Pebble Beach, leaving his second shot just short of the green on the 543-yard 18th. But before that, he had to wait for 15 minutes in the rain at the tee because there were players on the fairway.

The slow pace of play is of no concern to Mickelson.

“We know that going in,” he said.

Also of no concern to Mickelson is his putting, and for that matter, his driving. He is trying a lower trajectory off the tee to induce the ball to skid through the wet grass. Because he’s driving the ball so well, Mickelson decided to add Riviera to his list and play next week’s Nissan Open.

Considering that he closed with three birdies, little seems to be bothering Furyk, with the possible exception of the narrow, winding 17-Mile Drive and its tributaries.

“Other than the traffic patterns, I have no issues,” he said. “I don’t know which way I’m supposed to be going half the time.”

That direction would seem to be up, and that’s a nice change of pace for Mickelson and Furyk. Mickelson hasn’t had anything better than a tie for 45th this year and hasn’t had a top-10 finish since the U.S. Open. Furyk is trying to keep the consistency factor going after a tie for fourth at the Sony, where he had four rounds in the 60s. The week before, he was 18th in a 33-player field at Kapalua, with four rounds in the 70s.

Because there are plenty of trees around here, neither Mickelson nor Furyk is out of the woods yet.

John Mallinger, who shared the first-round lead with Mickelson and Nick Watney, hung on with a two-under 70 at Spyglass and is tied for third with Kevin Sutherland, who had a 63 at Spyglass, one off the course record. They are three strokes behind the leaders.

Love, a winner here in 2001 and 2003, is tied for fifth with Mark Hensby and Craig Kanada.

The key to Furyk’s round, besides making birdies at four of the five par-five holes, was the way he ended it. He knocked it to two feet at the seventh hole, his 16th, then chipped in from 20 feet at the eighth and two-putted from 90 feet to birdie the 555-yard ninth.

It didn’t rain enough to do much except keep the greens soft and there wasn’t any wind to speak of.

“We got out of it pretty good,” said Furyk, who says he thinks the worst rain has been pushed north toward the Santa Cruz area. “No offense, but I hope they keep getting it.”

Soft greens usually add up to heel marks, not to mention more spin, so approaches are difficult to gauge, Furyk said.

Then there is additional concern about the glacial pace of play. Furyk said he saw the group ahead of him tee off on four holes. That’s all right when you’re playing well, but not so good when you’re struggling.

“You sit there boiling,” he said. “It’s hard to sit out there for six hours and 20 minutes and stay focused.”

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thomas.bonk@latimes.com