Northern Trust Open: Phil Mickelson opens two-shot lead

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The first round of the Northern Trust Open, which had been halted by darkness Thursday, was completed Friday morning and the second round has begun, and first-round leader Phil Mickelson has already increased his advantage at Riviera Country Club.

Through his first seven holes, Mickelson is one-under par Friday and six-under for the tournament, two shots ahead of Stewart Cink and Carl Pettersson. Cink is two-under through six holes of his second round Friday.

After bogeying the par-three 16th hole Thursday, Mickelson, who started on the back nine Friday, has birdied that hole in his second round.

The 30 players who had didn’t finish their rounds Thursday had to start at 7 a.m. Friday. Among them were Pettersson and Troy Matteson, who both finished at three-under 68 and officially tied for fourth after the first round.

As evidence of how Thursday morning’s gusty winds, which neared 40 miles per hour at times, affected the scoring, the average first-round score for groups who teed off in the morning was 73.76, while for afternoon groupings, when the wind started to ease, the average was 72.93.

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-- Diane Pucin