Ochoa leads way at LPGA major event

Lorena Ochoa went from firing at flags to grinding over every shot Friday afternoon as winds swirled under hazy clouds and made the Kraft Nabisco Championship at Rancho Mirage, Calif., feel more like a major.

All that mattered was keeping her lead, and a 1-under-par 71 was enough to do that.

Coming off a 62 in the first round, which tied the lowest score in a major, Ochoa twice scrambled for par and pieced together enough birdies to maintain her four-shot lead over 16-year-old Michelle Wie. Ochoa was at 11-under 133.

Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., shot a second-round 75 for a 146 total.

PGA

Phil Mickelson shot a 65 to take a commanding six-stroke lead after the second round of the BellSouth Classic in Duluth, Ga.

One day after matching the course record with a first-round 63, Mickelson was 7 under in the second round to set a tournament record for 36 holes at 16-under 128.

The PGA record for most strokes under par through four rounds on a par-72 course is 29 by Joe Durant in the 2001 Bob Hope Classic.

Mickelson is on pace to finish at 32-under 256, but he says he just wants to be playing well heading into next week’s Masters. The PGA record low total for 72 holes is 254 by Tommy Armour III in the 2003 Texas Open.

Champions Tour

Scott Simpson shot a 5-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead over Champions Tour veterans Gil Morgan and David Eger after the opening round at the Blue Agave Golf Classic at Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Six players were tied at 3 under, including 10-time Champions Tour winner Allen Doyle.