World Golf Championships - Mexico Championship - Mickelson,McIlroy in contention

Phil Mickelson staged an amazing recovery in Saturday's third round of the WGC-Mexico Championship.Mickelson hit only 4 of 18 fairways,but hit 8 of 18 greens.It was typical Phil as he played worst in the field on the fairways;but,at the same time,was best in strokes gained on the greens.He birdied on three consecutive holes,15-17.Although he bogeyed the 18th,Mickelson still shot a three under 68 for the day,landing him in third place with Rory McIlroy,who is coming off an eight-week layoff with a cracked rib,for Sunday's final round.
McIlroy said that,if he had played the fairways like Mickelson,he'd have shot an 80.The golfers are building up to the year's first major,The Masters in early April.
The tournament is being played at an altitude of 7800 feet at the Club de Golf Chapulpetec in Mexico City.*
1.Thomas,Justin USA -12
2.Johnson,Dustin USA -11
3.Mickelson,Phil USA -10
3.McIlroy,Rory NIR -10
5.Westwood,Lee ENG -9

Scottish Open Golf;Popocatepetl Volcano

The Scottish Open is underway at Castle Stuart Golf Links,Inverness.The tournament is on Scotland's Northeast coast along the Moray Firth,looking across to Black Isle and the town of Fortrose.It is an important practice session for next weekend's Open Championship at Muirfield. Phil Mickelson shot a second round eight under par 70 at Castle Stuart Friday,tying for 13th place on the leader board and staying in contention.Fellow American Peter Uihlein did even better with his eleven under par 66 for second place.Uihlein won earlier in the season on the European Tour,and his chances for a second victory certainly looked excellent as of Friday's round. Mickelson got himself out of trouble several times with his much-admired bunker skills.A classic flop shot out of a hazard or rough is pure Mickelson.He seems to be at his best in such difficult situations,excelling at the most challenging moments. It is Mickelson's 11th Scottish Open.His best finish to date was second place at Loch Lomond in 2007. The top ten on Friday were as follows: Christopher Doak(SCO) -12 Peter Uihlein(USA) -11 Matthew Southgate(ENG) -11 Ross Fisher(ENG) -11 Joachim B Hansen(DEN) -11 Henrik Stenson(SWE) -10 Simon Khan(ENG) -10 Lorenzo Gagli(ITA) -10 James Morrison(ENG) -10 Victor Dubuisson(FRA) -10 Mexico's snowy Popocatepetl volcano,about forty miles from the capital,Mexico City, continued to send up a four mile high cloud of ash and steam Friday,coating nearby communities with ash and closing Puebla International Airport,about 20 miles from the eruption. Several airlines have been canceling flights to the area as a precaution.In communities near the mountain,water may not be used for drinking or bathing,since it comes from snowmelt on the mountain,which is 17,930 feet high,or 5465 meters. Update:Phil Mickelson fired off six birdies in the third round of the Scottish Open on Saturday,his excellent 14 under par 66 lifting him from 19th to a tie for 2nd place,two shots behind leader Henrik Stenson at -16.It was vintage Phil,momentum taking hold once he started to roll.At one point,he made four birdies in an hour.