Graeme McDowell seized the second-round lead at the US Open as Masters champion Phil Mickelson surged into contention with the best round of the tournament.
After Northern Ireland's McDowell fired six birdies in a three-under 68 for three-under 139, Mickelson came out firing.
The affable American, who couldn't muster a single birdie in a poor putting round on Thursday, reeled off three in a row from the second and added two more on the front for good measure as he surged up the leaderboard in search of the second leg of golf's grand slam.
Mickelson, too, finished with six birdies, his only miscue a bogey at the par-four ninth as he posted a superb five-under 66 on a day when Tiger Woods again couldn't break par.
Mickelson's round was good enough for a share of second place, two shots behind McDowell on one-under par 141.
He was tied with South African Ernie Els, Japanese teenager Ryo Ishikawa and American Dustin Johnson.
Woods did nab three birdies - his first of the tournament - en route to an unimpressive 72.
He insisted his four-over total of 146 put him in striking range on the weekend.
"I feel good," he said. "I'm right there."
"I'm going to have to make a few more birdies," Woods added. "I think I only made what, three in the first two days. I'm going to have to make a few more over the weekend in order to win."
Birdies were no problem for a pleased McDowell, who made the most of the good scoring conditions in damp morning weather - at least once he woke up.
"You're always surprised to be under par at a US Open golf course," said McDowell, whose claimed his fifth European Tour title in Wales a fortnight ago.
He got off to a rocky, bogey-birdie-bogey start, admitting he was sluggish after the early wake-up call.
A 30-foot putt for birdie at the par-five 14th "kind of got my day going," he said.
"I played lovely after that, gave myself a ton of chances."
McDowell added birdies at 16, 18, four and six before closing his round with a three-putt bogey at the ninth.
"It was a big left-to-right swinger," he said. "I knew it was lightning."
His effort rolled past and into the fringe, leaving him 15 feet coming back.
"Which I blew four feet by and had to sweat over a nice four-footer for a three-putt," he said.
"You've got to accept on this golf course, you get out of position, you're going to make bogey, simple as that."
McDowell, mindful of the fact that a European hasn't won the US Open since Tony Jacklin in 1970, said he would try not to get ahead of himself come the weekend.
"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about picking up the tropny on Sunday afternoon. I think that's only natural.
"But I'm really trying to put no expectations on myself this weekend because, A, I know there's a lot of great players out here and B, this golf course is extremely difficult."
His nearest challengers in the clubhouse were Els, Dustin Johnson and Japanese teenager Ryo Ishikawa, all on one-under 141.
Ishikawa, playing in his first US Open, posted an even-par 71 and Johnson a one-under 70.
It was a further stroke back to Germany's Alex Cejka (72), England's Paul Casey (73), Zimbabwe's Brendon de Jonge (73) and American Jerry Kelly (70).
Els, a two-time US Open champion, is experiencing a resurgence this season with two US tour victories.
"It has been such a long time since I won one of these, and we've got a long way to go," said Els, who lifted the trophy in 1994 and 1997. "I needed a round like today to get back into the tournament, which is nice."
Johnson won the last two editions of the PGA Tour's National Pro-Am here.
"Whenever you have success at a golf course you get a lot of confidence," Johnson said. "So I've got a lot of confidence at this golf course, and it sets up very well for me."
Tom Watson has plenty of good memories of Pebble Beach as well. He won the 1982 US Open here, and made a full-out effort to insure himself two more rounds on the picturesque course by shooting a second-round 71.
That put him at seven-over 149, within 10 shots of McDowell and apparently headed toward the weekend.
Copyright 2010 AFP Global Edition
