Faldo flirts with danger : GOLF

Nick Faldo spent most of yesterday here riding the cut line, despite a good day for scoring and a fairly forgiving golf course. In the end, he just made it.

He began at one under par, and was still at that figure after 11 holes, following two birdies and two bogeys. The problem, was his putting. The first putt that Faldo made longer than six feet was on the 12th, where he sank a 20-footer for birdie.

He made another birdie, with a 12-foot putt, on the 17th, to finish at three under and assure himself a weekend tee-time. "I played very well from tee to green," he said. "I just misread the putts. But it's only a matter of a half-inch either way."

Although he has won three tournaments on the PGA Tour as a profesional, Phil Mickelson's reputation was made here in Tucson, when as a 20-year-old amateur in his third year at Arizona State University, he birdied two of the last three holes to win the Tucson Open by a stroke.

The lead he has held for the first two rounds here will not be surrendered easily. Mickelson followed up his opening 65 with 66 for a 12-under-par total.

The other Briton in the field, David Feherty, missed his second cut in a row, shooting rounds of 81 and 71 to finish in last place.

TUCSON OPEN (Arizona) Early second-round scores (US unless stated): 131 P Mickelson 65 66. 132 J Gallagher Jnr 68 64. 133 B Ogle (Aus) 68 65; P Stankowski 67 66. 136 R Freeman 69 67; T Purtzer 65 71. 137 R Mediate 68 69; N Henke 70 67; T Kite 71 66; D Pooley 71 66; W Grady (Aus) 72 65; D Duval 67 70. 138 J Blake 67 71; J Furyk 69 69; J Wilson 70 68; D Barr (Can) 71 67; M Brooks 68 70; R Fehr 68 70; J Leonard 71 67; P Goydos 67 71. Selected: 140 N Faldo (Eng) 70 70. 152 D Feherty (N Irl) 81 71.