DORAL, Fla. (AP) " Phil Mickelson wanted another chance to go head-to-head with Tiger Woods at Doral. Nick Watney gave Lefty all he could handle Saturday in the CA Championship.
Mickelson hit his stride on the back nine of the Blue Monster with three straight birdies and wound up with a 3-under 69. That still wasn't enough to shake Watney, who finished off a 67 with a tough par save on the 18th hole to share the 54-hole lead.
They were at 16-under 200, with no one else closer than four shots.
Mickelson had birdie putts inside 12 feet on eight consecutive holes " including a tee shot on the par-3 13th that rolled against the flag stick and stopped a foot away " until a wild tee shot on the 17th hole led to bogey.
Watney, who won at Torrey Pines a month ago, stayed in the game with two good bunker saves and a delicate chip to 3 feet after flirting with the water on 18.
Woods was thrilled with how he hit the ball, disgusted with his putting, and had to settle for a 68 that left him nine shots behind. This is his first stroke-play tournament since winning the U.S. Open last summer. Woods had season-ending knee surgery a week later.
Jeev Milkha Singh (68) and Camilo Villegas (69) were tied for third at 12 under, and the group another shot behind included Jim Furyk (69), Kenny Perry (71) and Alvaro Quiros, the big-hitting Spaniard who had a 69.
Mickelson, who won two weeks ago at Riviera, can close in on No. 1 in the world ranking by capturing his first World Golf Championship title. It will be his first time in the final group at Doral since 2005, when Woods rallied to beat him.
Puerto Rico Open
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico (AP) " Michael Bradley shot a 4-under 68 in windy conditions for a share of the third-round lead with Australian Jason Day in the PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open.
The 42-year-old Bradley, whose last top-10 finish came at the 2000 Michelob Championship at Kingsmill, 64 tournaments ago, matched Day (70) at 12-under 204 " four shots clear on the tropical, 7,526-yard Trump International course.
The 21-year-old Day hit into the water off the tee on the par-4 17th, but rallied to save par with a 12-foot putt.
Jay Williamson (67), Brett Quigley (69), Greg Chalmers (70), Omar Uresti (70), Kent Jones (70), Cliff Kresge (72), Bart Bryant (73) and Bryce Molder (72).
Matt Jones, tied for the second-round lead with Day after matching the course record with a 64, shot a 79 to drop into a tie for 37th at 3 under. The Australian had two double bogeys, eight bogeys and three birdies.
AT&T Champions Classic
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (AP) " Joey Sindelar moved a step closer to his first Champions Tour victory, shooting a 2-under 70 to take a one-stroke lead over Don Pooley in the AT&T Champions Classic.
The 50-year-old Sindelar, winless in 22 starts on the Champions Tour after winning seven times on the PGA Tour, had a 10-under 134 total on the Valencia Country Club course. After shooting a 63 on Sunday to tie for second in the Toshiba Classic at Newport Beach, he opened with a 64 on Friday.
Sindelar stretched his bogey-free streak to 42 holes before dropping a stroke on the par-4 fifth. He also bogeyed Nos. 8 and 10, but played the final seven holes in 4 under to top the leaderboard for the second straight day.
Pooley shot a bogey-free 65, the best round of the day.
New Zealand Open
QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand (AP) " American Alex Prugh won the New Zealand Open on Sunday for his first Nationwide Tour title, pulling away with his second eagle of the round and finishing three strokes ahead of countryman Martin Piller.
The 24-year-old former University of Washington player finished with an 8-under 64 for a 19-under 269 total on The Hills course.
Prugh eagled the par-5 17th to take a four-stroke lead, and also had an eagle on the par-4 eighth. He had four back-nine birdies.
Piller, the third-round leader, shot a 68. American Jim Herman had a 68 to finish third at 14 under in the event sanctioned by the Australasian and Nationwide tours.