Elkington & Mickelson share 36 hole lead

Whatever happened to Steve Elkington? You know, the Aussie who won 10 tournaments during the 1990s, then dropped out of sight?

Well, he's not washed up yet.

Elkington was in position for his first PGA Tour victory since 1999, reaching the midway point of the BellSouth Classic tied for the lead with Phil Mickelson at 11-under par Friday.

``I like winning,'' Elkington said. ``I haven't had many opportunities, but I do appreciate them when I get them. I'd like to do well here on Saturday and Sunday.''

Elkington was a top contender through most of the 1990s; his victories included the '95 PGA Championship and The Players Championship twice.

Injuries slowed Elkington the past two seasons, knocking him out of the top 100 on the money list. He has made the cut in only four of eight tournaments this year.

Elkington regained his old form on the grueling TPC at Sugarloaf course. After opening with a 64, he shot a 3-under 69 to maintain a share of the top spot at 133.

``I'm only 39,'' Elkington said. ``I have plenty of time. I feel fit now, and I feel I have a lot of good golf in me. I am strong. I am big. I hit it plenty far ... and I've got all that experience now.''

Starting on the back side, Elkington birdied three of his first four holes. He blasted out of the sand for a short putt at 10, the longest hole on the course at 608 yards. He sank a 20-foot putt at 12, followed by a 15-footer at the 13th.

Elkington had just one birdie and one bogey the rest of the way, settling into a par groove.

``My round was pretty plain all the way around,'' he said, though it did include ``my best shot of the year'' -- a flop shot over a bunker to 5 feet for a birdie at No. 6.

Mickelson, who opened with a 65, played the first 32 holes of the tournament without a bogey. He got to 12 under, then three-putted back-to-back greens before finishing with a 68.

``I played well,'' Mickelson said. ``The golf course is playing a little bit harder because the greens are getting just a little slicker. But it's a very fair test. I'm not disappointed with 4 under.''

Mickelson, the winner in 2000, sank a 25-foot birdie to get his round started. He also drove the green on the 310-yard 13th -- the shortest par-4 on the course -- and two-putted from 35 feet.

At 15, he muscled a wedge 15 feet over the hole, pushed the putt 8 feet past on the other side and missed that to take his first bogey.

He quickly got his second. At 16, Mickelson needed three putts to get down from 30 feet.

But the left-hander rebounded for a birdie on the par-5 18th, knocking a shot from the back bunker to 10 feet. Overall, he has no complaints about his short game.

``You really can't shoot 11-under par without making a lot of putts,'' he said. ``I have made a ton of putts this week, a lot of 6- to 8-footers.''

The most interesting group of the day included Retief Goosen and Jesper Parnevik.

Both had a pair of eagles, which included Parnevik making a hole-in-one at No. 8 with a 5-iron from 217 yards. That shot, he quipped, wasn't as memorable as the hole-in-one he made in a 1995 tournament in China.

``Heineken was sponsoring the tournament and gave me free beer for a year,'' said Parnevik, who wore a lime green sweater for his chilly morning round. ``Today, I didn't even get a car.''

Parnevik also holed out a 6-iron from 172 yards on the first hole, but gave back two shots by knocking a 7-iron into the water at 12, leading to a double-bogey. He finished with a 69 and a 135 total, two strokes off the lead.

Goosen, the U.S. Open champion, was tied for third with Padraig Harrington at 134 after a 66. The South African eagled the par-5 sixth, then holed a lob wedge from 50 feet at the short 13th.

``It's actually quite funny,'' Goosen said. ``I'm not playing well at all. I am not hitting the ball good off the tee or into the green, but I have made my fair share of putts in these last two rounds. I am really scrambling around thecourse.''

Divots

For the first time since 1997, the year the tournament moved to Sugarloaf, the 36-hole cut was made on schedule. After four years of inclement weather, sunny skies have prevailed for first two rounds, and there's no rain in the weekend forecast. ... Defending champion Scott McCarron shot 72 and was six strokes off the lead. He also won the tournament in 1997. ... Dudley Hart had a verbal altercation with a fan after flubbing a wedge at the 13th. ``Terrible shot,'' the man said, loud enough for the golfer to hear. ``Shut up,'' Hart replied. ``Why don't you come out here and say that?'' Hart felt better after sinking a 40-footer for birdie. ... John Riegger knocked three straight shots into the water at No. 18, took an 11 and withdrew. He was at 44for nine holes when he dropped out.

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