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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Imada takes Farmers lead

Prugh 8 shots back; Mickelson airs anger

Associated Press

Phil Mickelson hit a drive into a eucalyptus tree that never came down. D.A. Point had a chip from 30 yards short of the flag that tumbled 20 yards over the green and into a hazard.

Ryuji Imada didn’t feel as though he played that much better Saturday in the Farmers Insurance Open at San Diego. The difference was he turned trouble into pars, then finished with a bonus birdie that put gave him a two-shot lead at Torrey Pines.

“The score looks pretty solid,” Imada said after his 2-under-par 70. “But it was a struggle out there.”

Imada avoided the problems that stalled so many other players on the South Course and wound up at 13-under 203. When his 35-foot birdie putt dropped on the 18th, he had a two-shot lead over Ben Crane and Michael Sim of Australia.

Alex Prugh (University of Washington/Ferris High) fired a 73 and stands tied for 25th at 211.

Imada will be going for his second PGA Tour victory, along with an invitation to The Masters.

And he surely likes his chances better than two years ago, when he finished runner-up at Torrey Pines. He started that final round 12 shots behind and finished eight shots behind Tiger Woods.

“It he was here, I’m sure he’d be 10 ahead of me,” Imada said. “No, it would be a different feel. But it’s still a good 18 holes of golf left, and hopefully, I can keep on playing the way I’ve been playing this week.”

Mickelson shot 70 and was in the group four shots back at 9-under 207.

Mickelson had another matter in mind. He hinted at legal action for being accused Friday of “cheating,” saying that if the PGA Tour did not do something about him being “publicly slandered,” then he would let others handle it.

Mickelson didn’t mention Scott McCarron by name in a series of interviews. McCarron was quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle as saying about Mickelson using the Ping-Eye 2 wedges with square grooves, “It’s cheating, and I’m appalled Phil has put it in play.”

The USGA has a new rule this year that irons have V-shaped grooves. However, the Ping-Eye 2 wedges that were made before April 1, 1990, remain approved for play through a Ping lawsuit that was settled 20 years ago and takes precedence over new regulations.

Mickelson is using one of those wedges this week.

“We all have our opinions on the matter, but a line was crossed and I just was publicly slandered,” Mickelson said. “And because of that, I’ll have to let other people handle that.”