Leonard takes lead with tournament record

Justin Leonard finally believes he can play Harbour Town. He's got the rest of the field believing it, too.

Leonard, making up for years of frustration in the WorldCom Classic, shot a 5-under 66 Saturday to break the tournament's 54-hole scoring record.

Phil Mickelson held a two-stroke lead over Leonard and Davis Love III when the round began. But Lefty hot an up-close look at Leonard's newfound ability on Harbour Town's small, narrow fairways and tiny greens.

``There are about five or six guys within striking distance,'' said Mickelson, who fell four strokes behind Leonard after a 1-over 72. ``But if Justin plays a solid round, it's going to take a very good round to catch him.''

That might be hard to do. Leonard hadn't finished higher than 30th here and missed his last two cuts. But his rounds of 67-64-66 have wiped away past failures.

``When you have no confidence, anything greater than that is an exponential increase,'' he said. ``I would say my confidence has gone up more than anybody's in the field.''

He had seven birdies and two bogeys for a 16-under 197 total, surpassing the mark of 198 set by Hale Irwin in 1994 and tied by Loren Roberts two years later.

``Fifty-four-hole records are great,'' Leonard said. ``But we want to have 72-hole records. Those are what count.''

He needs a 68 to tie Roberts' record of 265, set en route to the 1996 title. But that's more than Leonard's shot in any round so far.

Leonard led Cameron Beckman by three strokes. Mickelson, who matched Jack Nicklaus' 1975 scoring mark for the first two rounds, was tied with Heath Slocum (66), four shots behind.

Leonard says he's over the surprise of Harbour Town success and zoning in the winner's tartan jacket.

``I think I was a bit surprised the first day. And after yesterday's round, maybe a little less surprised,'' Leonard said. ``Now, I'm very pleased but not surprised.''

Leonard, known for his 45-putt that won the 1999 Ryder Cup for the United States, was particularly accurate on the greens. He had a 12-foot putt for birdie on the fifth hole and followed that with a 15-footer that tied Mickelson at 13 under. After a bogey from the bunker on the par-3 seventh, Leonard made a slippery downhill 25-foot putt to again tie for the lead.

Mickelson, cheered at every tee box and green, remained out front with Leonard through 12 holes. But like several other times on top this season, Mickelson could not avoid a tumble.

He had consecutive bogeys on the 13th and 14th holes, and needed 12-footer on the par-5 15th hole simply to save par.

When Leonard rolled in an 8-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole, Lefty was down by three strokes.

Leonard closed his round with a magnificent approach that settled 4 feet from the cup on No. 18, the famous lighthouse hole.

``I didn't play as well as I'd like. I had trouble making birdies,'' Mickelson said. ``I felt like I did a good job keeping it around par because I did not hit very many greens today.''

Love had opened with a 62 and looked good bet to run away with the tournament he's won four times. But for the second straight round, Love could not find his rhythm. He fell behind with bogeys on the 13th and 14th holes and missed a short par-putt on the 18th to fall six shots back with a 72. Angel Cabrera also was at 10-under 203 after a 70.

Beckman, who tied the front-nine scoring mark Friday with a 29, kept up his solid play with a 67. He opened with consecutive birdies, then moved a shot out of the lead with birdies on the 11th, 12th and 15th holes.

Slocum, who won three Buy.com Tour events last year to graduate to the PGA Tour, moved into contention with a 66.

Beckman said Harbour Town's greens will be rock solid by the end Sunday. ``I think it's going to be a good day to tell myself to hang in there,'' he said.``You just never know.''

Divots

You could call Slocum a streaky player. He finished with his third straight round in the 60s on the PGA Tour this year after nine in a row at 70 or higher. ... Tim Herron had one of the day's best stretches with three birdies and an eagle from Nos. 2-5. The run didn't last through as he bogeyed three of the next five holes. ... Sergio Garcia, finishing well before the leaders began, shot a 5-under 66, his first time under 70 in five career Harbour Town rounds. ... Greg Chalmers had the day's best round, a 7-under 64.

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