Good scoring, not so good forecast at Riviera

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A trio of champions are playing in the same group at Riviera, all of them with memories of winning in vastly different ways, starting with Phil Mickelson. He’s the only guy who didn’t win the Northern Trust Open in a rain suit. That’s a popular topic going into the second round Friday with rain in the forecast over the next two days, which would put a damper on a golf course that players have described as nothing short of perfect. Dustin Johnson had a one-shot lead over Andres Romero and Kevin Stadler after opening with a 7-under 64 that was close to flawless. Johnson was to play Friday afternoon, about the time rain was expected to arrive. Stadler was an early starter, hopeful to beat the rain. Also playing early Friday was Brandt Snedeker and Ricky Barnes, who opened with 66, along with Steve Stricker (67), David Duval and Ernie Els, both of whom shot 68. Another early starter is Mickelson, who is going for an unprecedented third straight victory at Riviera. He opened with a 72 after making three bogeys on his last four holes. “I had it right there … and I let it go,” Mickelson said. Mickelson’s partners for the first two rounds? One of them is Adam Scott, whose victory at Riviera in 2005 comes with an asterisk at best. That was the year of so much rain that it took four days to complete 36 holes. One hole was played on Monday, a sudden-death playoff against Chad Campbell, who had not hit a shot that mattered in three days. Scott won with a par, although it didn’t count as an official win because it was only 36 holes. The other was Robert Allenby, whose victory comes with neither an asterisk nor a plaque. Allenby won a six-man playoff at Riviera in 2001 in a cold, steady rain by hitting 3-wood for his second shot into 5 feet on the fabled 18th hole. It was a remarkable shot, one deserving of a plaque if it was a major, or if Allenby’s name was Tiger Woods. The Australian is used to being overlooked. When he returned to Riviera as the defending champion, he had troubles registering for the tournament because the volunteer behind the desk didn’t recognize him. Allenby had to point to the oil pointing of him in the clubhouse. And he still laughs about one of the most famous putts ever holed on the island-green 17th, in the third round of The Players Championship in 2001. Woods made a 60-foot putt from the back of the green, which took forever to reach the hole as it broke to the left, picked up speed and broke back to the right before disappearing into the cup. Earlier that day, Allenby made the same putt — only longer. He was so far from the hole that his feet were on the wooden planks that frame the outer edges of the green. There weren’t as many fans because this was early in the third round, not late in the day. Television had not come on. No cameras were there to capture the moment. One witness to the putt, oddly enough, was PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, who was coming in from a back gate. This time of the year in California, when rain is in the forecast, it’s not a matter of if it shows up, but when. Far more difficult to project is how it affects the tournament. Mickelson, still bummed about the finish, suggested he might see smooth greens Friday morning, but that the late starters could see softer conditions in the rain. Lefty was in a tie for 102nd place among 132 players, so he needs a good second round to at least get in the hunt going into the weekend. No one has ever won three straight years at Riviera, and Mickelson has never won three straight at any tournament. In his three previous attempts at three in a row — Tucson in 1997, San Diego in 2002, Hartford in 2003 — he never cracked the top 10.