Hot putter hands Mickelson lead

Phil Mickelson used a hot putter to take the second round lead at the Crowne Plaza Invitational.

'I didn't strike it like I did yesterday but I putted probably the best I have all year,' Mickelson said after a two-under-par 68 on another windy day at Colonial Country Club.

His seven-under 133 halfway total was enough for a one-stroke lead over Matt Kuchar, Brian Gay and first-round leader Johnson Wagner, while six others trailed by two strokes.

Mickelson made a slow start, with two bogeys and just one birdie in his first eight holes, but he clicked into gear around the turn, compiling three consecutive birdies to surge into the lead.

He was in danger of dropping shots at each of the next three holes, but saved par each time from a greenside bunker. He was six-of-six from the sand for the round and had just 25 putts.

'Those three par putts kept the round going,' said the world number two, who discarded a three-wood in favour of a fifth wedge.

Mickelson and Kuchar played in the morning, completing a good chunk of their rounds before the winds whipped up, providing a stern test for the second successive day.

Under the circumstances, Gay's 65, which included a 45-foot hole-out from a bunker at the par-three 13th, was perhaps the day's best performance, coming in the afternoon winds.

'It's my favourite course on tour,' said Gay, the 2001 runner-up, who scored his first PGA Tour victory in March when he won the Mayakoba Classic.

'I just love that you've got to hit every shot, every club. It doesn't really favour any particular player, young or old, long or short.'

The par-70 layout is one of the few left on tour where power is not particularly important, most holes calling for a draw or a fade off the tee.

First-round leader Wagner made a double-bogey at his sixth hole, the par-four 15th, where he put his second shot into the creek left of the green, but that was the only blemish on his card.

'I made one bad swing and ended up in the hazard,' said Wagner.

'From then on, I played very solidly, very consistently. I didn't make any putts but I'm still only one back.'

Kuchar, who started his round with four successive birdies, found his touch with the putter after enduring a nightmare on the greens at last week's tour stop in Georgia.

'It's awfully fun to see the ball fall into the hole,' he said. 'Anytime you shoot six-under, you've made some putts. It was disheartening (last week). I played really well and just saw putt after putt slide by the hole.'

Seventy-nine players made the cut, which fell at two-over 142.

Among those eliminated were last year's winner, Rory Sabbatini, who did not put up much of a title defence.