HUMBLE, Texas – Matt Kuchar didn’t have the result he had hoped for while playing in the final pairing at last week’s Texas Open.

The six-time PGA Tour winner, who closed with a final-round 75 on his way to a fourth-place finish last week, will have the opportunity to show what he learned from that disappointing finish at this week’s Houston Open.

Playing in the final pairing, Kuchar vaulted past a struggling Sergio Garcia with a 4-under par 68 on Saturday – overcoming windy conditions at the Golf Club of Houston to match the low round of the day and take a four-shot lead after three rounds.

Kuchar stands at 15-under overall heading into Sunday’s final round, four shots ahead of second-round leader Garcia and Cameron Tringale. The three will be paired together on Sunday.

“It’s a nice position to have played well last week, to have been in the last group with a chance to win and again to come back this week, completely different course, and have another shot to win,” Kuchar said.

Kuchar’s last win came at the Memorial last year, and he has eight top 10 finishes this season in 10 events.

He’ll have the opportunity add to that resume on Sunday, weather permitting, as well as fuel his surging confidence leading into next week’s Masters, where he finished in a tie for eighth last year.

The prospect of a winner’s share of nearly $1.2-million, however, has Kuchar locked in on this weekend first – even with the prospect of competing for his first major championship looming next week.

“I’ve been playing some steady golf for a couple of years now and feel like my chances of playing well tomorrow are pretty good,” Kuchar said. “Having a four-shot lead is a great position to be in.”

The golfers went off both tees in threesomes early Saturday morning in anticipation of severe weather in the evening, a format they’ll use again Sunday with hopes of avoiding a Monday finish leading into next week’s visit to Augusta National.

Garcia, who surged ahead with a 7-under 65 on Friday, began the day with a one-shot lead over Kuchar. That disappeared quickly after the Spaniard bogeyed the first to fall back to 11 under and into a tie with his playing partner, Kuchar.

That was just the beginning of the struggles for Garcia, who later put his tee shot into the water on No. 10. He finished with a 1-over 73 after matching the course’s low mark of 12 under after two rounds.

“Obviously, I didn’t play as well as yesterday with the difficulty,” Garcia said. “… It wasn’t that easy.”

Kuchar, meanwhile, birdied the first to move into the lead – a spot he didn’t relinquish. He added back-to-back birdies on No. 4 and 5 to move to 14 under, and he added three birdies in a row on the back nine.

He reached 16 under with a birdie on the par-3 14th before three-putting the 18th and settling for 15 under.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Ben Curtis, who is tied for 5th at 8 under with Rickie Fowler. “(Kuchar’s) on a great roll the last few years. Obviously, he’s playing very confidently, and that makes a huge difference.”

Kuchar missed his first four cuts at the Houston Open, but the American finished tied for eighth in 2010 and 2011 before not playing in the tournament the last two years.

His three rounds in the 60s this week have only been matched by Tringale, who shot a 3-under 69 on Saturday while playing in the next-to-last pairing.

Phil Mickelson, after withdrawing from last week’s Texas Open with a muscle pull in his right side, was inconsistent from the opening hole Saturday.

The five-time major winner left his opening two approach shots short of the green, the second of which found the bunker and caused him to slump over in the fairway. That led to the first of back-to-back bogeys, though he did recover with three straight birdies on the back nine before settling for an even-par 72 – leaving him in a tie for eighth at 6 under.

“I don’t know if I’ll have a good round tomorrow or not,” Mickelson said. “But it’s close, a lot closer than it’s been.”

Fowler matched Kuchar’s low round in Saturday’s chilly conditions, posting a 4-under 68 and moving to 8 under overall.

With rain forecast for Saturday night and throughout Sunday, the golfers will once again tee off in threesomes early on Sunday morning.

Canada’s Graham DeLaet shot an even-par 72 on moving day. He sits 3-under par and tied for 23rd.

Stephen Ames struggled to a 6-over 78 on the day. He fell 17 spots into a a tie for 72nd at 5-over-par.

HUMBLE, Texas – Sergio Garcia surged to the top of the leaderboard by shooting a 7-under par 65 in the second round of the Houston Open on Friday.

The Spaniard’s 12-under overall score matches the 36-hole low at the 7,441-yard Golf Club of Houston, and he’s one shot ahead of Matt Kuchar – who is 11 under overall.

Garcia, opening on the back nine, climbed the leaderboard with a birdie-eagle-birdie stretch on his front nine. His eagle on No. 13 came after sticking his 282-yard second shot to 5 feet.

First-round co-leader Bill Haas followed his opening 65 with a 2-over 74 in gusty conditions. The other first-round leader, Charley Hoffman, fell to 3 under overall.

Phil Mickelson shot a 2-under 70 and is 6 under overall, six shots back of Garcia.

Graham DeLaet and Stephen Ames qualified for weekend play. DeLaet was 1-under Friday and sits tied for 27th at 3-under for the championship. Ames also carded a 1-under 71 Friday, he’s at 1-under and tied for 56th.

David Hearn (+2, T93) and Mike Weir (+3, T109) missed the 36-hole cut.

HUMBLE, Texas – Phil Mickelson did more than prove to just himself that he’s ready for next week’s Masters on Thursday.

The five-time major winner showed to everyone that he’s fully recovered from last week’s muscle pull and likely to be a factor in this week’s Houston Open as well.

Without so much as a practice round this week at the 7,441-yard Golf Club of Houston, Mickelson opened with a 4-under par 68 in Thursday’s opening round.

The bogey-free performance was a far cry from last week when Mickelson was forced to withdraw during the third round in San Antonio after pulling a muscle in his right side

“I’m surprised because I was worried about the Masters,” Mickelson said. “I was certainly worried about Houston, but it healed a lot quicker. I felt great today; didn’t feel any pain or discomfort and didn’t even think about it.”

Mickelson is three shots back of first-round co-leaders Bill Haas and Charley Hoffman, both who finished at 7 under. Hass had five birdies on his back nine, while Hoffman needed just 27 putts to earn a share of the lead.

Keegan Bradley and Matt Kuchar lead a group of five golfers at 6 under. J.B. Holmes, Erik Compton and Jim Renner are also at 6 under, with 10 golfers at 5 under.

Of the 144 players in the field, 113 finished at even par or under on an overcast and occasionally misty day.

Former world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, playing in the afternoon and one of the five top-10 players in the world in the tournament, finished with a 2-under 70. Graham DeLaet matched McIlroy’s 70 and the pair are in a group of 17 players tied for 59th.

Mike Weir is 1 under and tied for 76, Stephen Ames is at even par after a 72 and David Hearn is 3 over.

While Haas and Hoffman shared the lead after Thursday’s play, it was Mickelson – who was forced to withdraw during last week’s third round in San Antonio after pulling a muscle in his right side – who was the center of attention leading into next week at Augusta National.

Mickelson has won the Masters three times, the latest coming in 2010, but his status was in doubt following last week’s injury.

The left-hander, however, underwent treatment in the days following his departure from San Antonio – along with fitting in two days of light practice at Augusta National – and appeared in top ball-striking form on Thursday.

“One of the things I really worked on hard today was staying focused on each shot,” Mickelson said. “… I needed to play here this week and really challenge myself in that regard to give myself the best chance for next week.”

Opening on the back nine at the former Redstone Golf Club, which was renamed the Gold Club of Houston following an ownership change, Mickelson was bogey free despite needing 31 putts.

He made the turn at 2 under following a 16-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th, and he birdied both of the par 5s on his back nine to put himself squarely in contention. Mickelson won the Houston Open in 2011, and the course’s Masters-like setup – including slick greens and tight rough – is a key reason he’s returned every year since.

“He was striking it, he was hitting it long and great,” Bradley said of Mickelson. “… He seems like it was feeling a lot better today than it was in San Antonio.”

Kuchar, who finished tied for fourth at last week’s Texas Open, had three straight birdies in the middle of his round on Thursday – highlighted by a 47-foot birdie putt on the 445-yard par-4 second hole.

McIlroy, one of five of the top 10 players in the world in the field, was as low as 3 under before a pair of bogeys on the back nine.

World No. 10 Dustin Johnson withdrew following an opening 8-over par 80.

HUMBLE, Texas – Rory McIlroy can’t remember a time when men’s golf has so clearly lacked a dominant figure, or figures, heading into the Masters.

Welcome to the Tiger Woods-less 2014, a year full of those hoping to contend on the PGA Tour rather than one player who expects to win each and every week.

McIlroy, speaking following his pro-am round at the Houston Open on Wednesday, said he hadn’t talked with Woods since news broke of Monday’s back surgery that will keep him out of next week’s visit to Augusta National.

The Northern Ireland golfer and former world No. 1 also said golf overall, not just next week’s Masters, is seemingly as wide open as it’s been during his time as a pro.

“It’s almost like golf is waiting for someone to stamp their authority on the game and be that dominant player,” McIlroy said.

Australia’s Steven Bowditch earned his first PGA Tour win at last week’s Texas Open in San Antonio, becoming the tour’s 17th different winner in its last 20 events – dating back to the beginning of this season at the Frys.com Open.

The parity is a far cry from Woods’ peak when he won nine events in 2000 and eight in both 1999 and 2006. And Woods isn’t alone in his dominance after the turn of the century, with Vijay Singh also winning nine times in 2004.

McIlroy mentioned both Woods and Singh on Wednesday while also saying golf needs a few players to “sort of put their hands up and try and be, you know, the dominant players in this game because that’s what people like to see.”

Jimmy Walker leads the tour this season with three wins. The Texan, in another sign of the changing of the guard in golf these days, went 187 starts on the PGA Tour without winning before capping a stretch of three wins in eight tournaments at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in February.

Bowditch joined Walker in the first-time winner ranks last week, earning his first trip to the Masters in the process.

Even Bowditch, while occupied with this week’s Houston Open and preparing for next week’s trip to Augusta National, had a sense of what Woods’ absence will mean to the game.

“Tiger, in any atmosphere, creates an unbelievable atmosphere,” Bowditch said. “… What Tiger has done for the game of golf is unbelievable. To not have him there at the Masters is not the greatest.”

Woods has had his share of challengers over the years, including McIlroy and Phil Mickelson, among others.

Mickelson, however, has battled injures of his own lately – including a muscle pull that forced his withdrawal from last week’s Texas Open.

Adam Scott is second in the world rankings as he prepares to defend his championship at the Masters, and both he and McIlroy are among those at the top of any list of contenders hoping to heed McIlroy’s call.

McIlroy appeared on his way to assuming that role when he climbed to the top of the world rankings in 2012, but a club change led to an inconsistent 2013. He did win the Australian Open in December, however, and didn’t lack for confidence about the state of his retooled game on Wednesday.

“I don’t have to worry about equipment stuff, or do I need a driver that turns over more at Augusta, do I need this or that,” McIlroy said. “Everything is just more settled.”

McIlroy also left little doubt about who he hopes claims the mantle Woods has left vacant – for now.

“I hope it’s me,” he said, smiling.

Maybe we were just focused on the wrong body part.

Ever since Tiger Woods’ SUV veered off course at the end of his driveway in Florida nearly six years ago, the questions have been about his head. And all the while, it’s the rest of his body – the left side mostly – that’s been breaking down before our eyes. Maybe, like Icarus, it turns out Woods just wasn’t built to go the distance.

He broke into big-time golf at 20, thin as a 2-iron and swinging with all the abandon of a kid. He putted without nerves, hit the ball farther and passed so many career signposts so breathtakingly fast, and with such ease, that his future seemed to be on cruise-control already.

But Woods is 38 now, and despite sparking the fitness craze that revolutionized professional golf, he’s falling apart like a used car.

Woods announced Tuesday he would skip the Masters for the first time in his career to begin yet another rehab from the latest of at least a half-dozen surgeries. For all the comparisons to Jack Nicklaus, in light of this latest breakdown, it might be more apt to look at Mickey Mantle.

A chain-reaction series of injuries hobbled the Yankee slugger through the final few seasons of a career that should have been even better – not to mention longer. Mantle’s bad luck, as one writer memorably put it, was to be “a million-dollar talent propped up on dime-store knees.”

At this point it’s worth noting that Mantle had a drinking problem. And that he contributed to his own demise as a ballplayer by staying out late too many nights, something to which Woods has already pleaded guilty. But the way the injuries dogged Mantle at the end, sapping both his power and speed, may turn out to be the more instructive parallel.

Woods’ latest surgery, called a microdiscectomy, was to relieve the pain from a pinched nerve in his back. Problems with his back first surfaced last summer, then resumed this spring, culminating in Woods’ withdrawal from the Honda Classic and a final-round 78 a week later at Doral, where he looked visibly weakened.

A bad back is worrisome enough. That it arrives at the end of a string of injuries to Woods’ left leg, knee and elbow, as well as both Achilles tendons – and almost all within the last half-dozen years – makes you wonder whether it’s part of a larger pattern.

In a statement on his website, Woods called the setback “frustrating” but “something my doctors advised me to do for my immediate and long-term health.”

The website also pointed out that swinging a golf club could have caused the pinched nerve, and as anybody who’s ever swung one for a couple of rounds can attest, it can damage plenty of other body parts as well.

Woods has been doing that since age 3, and until the surgeries began piling up, it seemed as if he could go on doing it long enough to win more major tournaments that anyone had. But he’s been stuck at 14 since the 2008 U.S. Open, and suddenly it’s relevant that he’s playing a game that has knocked just about every other great champion off his pedestal by the mid-to-late 30s.

Woods certainly knows the litany: Bobby Jones retired at 28; Tom Watson and Byron Nelson never won another after 33; Arnold Palmer, 34; and Walter Hagen, 36. Gary Player won only one after 38 and Nick Faldo his last at 39. Ben Hogan was an outlier, winning into his early 40s.

Nicklaus, the one that always mattered most to Woods, won all but one of his by age 40, covering an 18-year span. And the last one, the 1986 Masters at age 46, was what people mean by the phrase, “catching lightning in a bottle.”

Woods may still be good for one of those, as well as a few more regular tour events, which he’s continued to win with some regularity. More important, perhaps, he isn’t conceding anything. He needs four more PGA Tour wins to pass Sam Snead and five more majors to go by Nicklaus.

“There are a couple (of) records by two outstanding individuals and players that I hope one day to break,” Woods said Tuesday on his website. “As I’ve said many times, Sam and Jack reached their milestones over an entire career. I plan to have a lot of years left in mine.”

Even if Woods is right, this much is already different. A lot of those kids he inspired to take up the game blow their drives past his, and they don’t spit up leads the way Woods’ peers used to the second his name popped up on the leaderboard. The last time some of them saw Woods make a putt that mattered in a major was on TV.

So it matters less, at the moment anyway, where Woods’ head is at than how quickly – maybe even whether – the rest of his body heals. Deep as that bunker he was standing in looked before, his shot looks a lot tougher now.

Tiger Woods’ injuries over the years

• December 1994 – Surgery on left knee to remove two benign tumors and scar tissue.
• Dec. 13, 2002 – Surgery on left knee to remove fluid inside and outside the ACL and remove benign cysts from his left knee. Misses the season opener in 2003.
• August 2007 – Ruptures the ACL in his left knee while running on a golf course after the British Open, but is able to keep playing. Wins five of the last six tournaments he plays, including the PGA Championship for his 13th major.
• April 15, 2008 – Two days after the Masters, has arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to repair cartilage damage.
• May 2008 – Advised weeks before the U.S. Open that he has two stress fractures of the left tibia and should rest for six weeks, the first three weeks on crutches.
• June 24, 2008 – Eight days after winning the U.S. Open, has surgery to repair the ACL in his left knee by using a tendon from his right thigh. Additional cartilage damage is repaired. Misses the rest of the season and does not return until the Match Play Championship at the end of February 2009.
• December 2008 – Injured his Achilles tendon in his right leg as he was running while preparing to return to golf.
• Nov. 27, 2009 – Hospitalized overnight with a sore neck and a cut lip that required five stitches when the SUV he was driving ran over a fire hydrant and into a tree.
• May 9, 2010 – Withdrew from the final round of The Players Championship, citing a bulging disk. He later said it was a neck issue that caused tingling in his right side, and that it first became a problem as he began practicing harder for his return to the Masters a month earlier.
• April 10, 2011 – Injures his left Achilles tendon hitting from an awkward stance below Eisenhower’s Tree on the 17th at Augusta National. Withdraws from the Wells Fargo Championship.
• May 12, 2011 – Withdraws from The Players Championship after a 42 on the front nine. Diagnosed with an MCL sprain in his left knee and in his left Achilles tendon. He misses the next two months, including two majors, returning at the Bridgestone Invitational.
• March 11, 2012 – Feels tightness in his left Achilles tendon and withdraws after 11 holes of the final round in the Cadillac Championship at Doral. He wins in his next start at Bay Hill, his first PGA Tour victory since the scandal in his personal life.
• Aug. 24, 2012 – Moves stiffly during the second round of The Barclays and later says he felt pain in his lower back, which he attributed to a soft mattress in his hotel room.
• June 13, 2013 – Is seen shaking his left arm during the opening round of the U.S. Open. He later says it’s a left elbow strain that he injured while winning The Players Championship a month earlier. He misses two tournaments and returns at the British Open.
• Aug. 11, 2013 – Said he felt tightness in his back during the final round of the PGA Championship.
• Aug. 21, 2013 – Two weeks after the PGA Championship, he only chips and putts on the back nine of the pro-am at The Barclays, complaining of a stiff neck and back that he attributed to a soft bed in the hotel. By Sunday at The Barclays, he dropped to his knees after one shot because of back spasms.
• March 2, 2014 – Withdraws after 13 holes of the final round at The Honda Classic because of lower back pain and spams, describing it as similar to what he felt at The Barclays.
• March 9, 2014 – Plays the final 12 holes with pain in his lower back, saying it began to flare up after hitting out of the bunker from an awkward lie in the Cadillac Championship at Doral. He shoots 78, the highest score of his career in a final round.
• March 19, 2014 – Withdraws from the Arnold Palmer Invitational because of the persistent pain in his back. He was the two-time defending champion.
• March 31, 2014 – Has surgery in Utah for a pinched nerve.
• April 1, 2014 – Announced he will miss the Masters and not return to golf until the summer.

Tiger Woods chose surgery to heal his ailing back over a quest for another green jacket, announcing Tuesday that he will miss the Masters for the first time in his career.

Woods said on his website that he had surgery Monday in Utah for a pinched nerve that had been hurting him for several months, knowing the surgery would keep him from Augusta National next week for the first time since he was a senior in high school.

The No. 1 player in the world is a four-time Masters champion.

“After attempting to get ready for the Masters, and failing to make the necessary progress, I decided in consultation with my doctors to have this procedure done, Woods said. “I’d like to express my disappointment to the Augusta National membership, staff, volunteers and patrons that I will not be at the Masters.

“It’s a week that’s very special to me,” he said. “It also looks like I’ll be forced to miss several upcoming tournaments to focus on my rehabilitation and getting healthy.”

The Masters gets the highest television ratings of any golf tournament, and Woods commands most of the attention, even though he last won a green jacket in 2005. He won his first Masters in 1997 when he set 20 records, from youngest Masters champion (21) to his 12-shot margin of victory.

Woods has been coping with back issues since last summer: a twinge in the final round of the PGA Championship and spasms in the final round of The Barclays that caused him to fall to his knees. Then, they returned with alarming regularity recently in Florida.

He withdrew after 13 holes in the final round of the Honda Classic with what he described as lower back pain and spasms. Woods shot the highest final round of his career at Doral a week later when he said his back flared up again in the final round. He skipped the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he was the two-time defending champion, to rest his back and do everything possible to be at Augusta National next week.

“Tiger was gracious in keeping us updated of his condition and making us aware of his decision,” Augusta National chairman Billy Payne said. “We wholeheartedly offered our best wishes for his immediate and long-term recovery. Tiger will be in our thoughts and will be missed by our patrons and all of us at the Masters Tournament next week.”

Woods said he had a microdiscectomy for the pinched nerve, performed by neurosurgeon Charles Rich.

A microdiscectomy is a type of minimally invasive spine surgery to relieve pressure and pain caused by a herniated disc. Operating through a small incision in the lower back, surgeons remove small disc fragments that are pressing against spinal nerves.

Recovery can take several weeks and doctors typically advise against bending and twisting the back until patients are completely healed

“This is frustrating,” Woods said. “But it’s something my doctors advised me to do for my immediate and long-term health.”

His website said repeating the motion of a golf swing can cause problems with a pinched nerve, and that the injury could have become worse if he had continued to play. Woods said he hopes to return to golf this summer, though he could not say when. It’s possible he could at least start chipping and putting in three weeks.

He will have to wait until the U.S. Open – maybe longer – to resume his quest to reach Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 professional majors. Woods won his 14th major at the 2008 U.S. Open on a badly injured left leg that required season-ending surgery two days after his playoff win at Torrey Pines.

He has not won another major since then.

This would have been the 20th straight Masters for Woods, dating to 1995 when he tied for 41st as the U.S. Amateur champion. He missed the British Open and PGA Championship in 2008 after knee surgery, and the U.S. Open and British Open in 2011 to heal more injuries in his left leg.

But he never missed the Masters, even after the scandal in his personal life at the end of 2009. Woods had been out of golf for nearly five months dealing with a car crash into a fire hydrant, revelations of multiple extramarital affairs and 45 days in a Mississippi clinic when he returned to Augusta National under intense scrutiny. He tied for fourth.

Even though he hasn’t won the Masters in nine years, he had only finished out of the top 10 one time, in 2012.

Woods has 79 career wins on the PGA Tour, three short of the record held by Sam Snead. He already was off to the worst start of his career. He missed a 54-hole cut at Torrey Pines, where he was the defending champion. He tied for 41st in Dubai, and then withdrew from the Honda Classic and tied for 25th at Doral.

“It’s tough right now, but I’m absolutely optimistic about the future,” Woods said. “There are a couple (of) records by two outstanding individuals and players that I hope one day to break. As I’ve said many times, Sam and Jack reached their milestones over an entire career. I plan to have a lot of years left in mine.”

Woods also tweeted out the following.

Sad to say I’m missing the Masters. Thanks to the fans for so many kind wishes. http://t.co/Ofbre9VHEL

— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) April 1, 2014

SAN ANTONIO – Steven Bowditch held on to win the Texas Open in windy conditions Sunday for his first PGA Tour victory and a spot in the Masters.

The 30-year-old Australian bogeyed the par-5 18th for a 4-over 76 – the highest closing score by a winner since Vijay Singh finished with a 4-over 76 in the 2004 PGA Championship – for a one-stroke victory.

“I’m over the moon,” Bowditch said. “I really can’t believe it.”

Bowditch finished at 8-under 280 at TPC San Antonio and earned $1,116,000.

Will MacKenzie and Daniel Summerhays tied for second. MacKenzie shot 70, and Summerhays had a 71.

Chesson Hadley and Ryan Palmer missed chances to get into the Masters through the top 50 in the world ranking. Hadley, the Puerto Rico Open winner, needed at least a sixth-place finish, but closed with an 80 to tie for 56th at 5 over. Palmer needed a top-three finish and had an 82 to also tie for 56th.

Bowditch entered the week 339th in the world and had only two top-10 finishes in eight years on the tour in a career marked by bouts of depression. He won once on the Australasian circuit and twice on the Web.Com Tour.

Bowditch played the front nine in 3-over 39, making a double bogey on the par-4 fourth. He countered a bogey on the par-3 13th with a birdie on the par-5 14th and made three pars before missing a 3-foot par putt and settling for a bogey on 18.

On the par-3 16th, he got up-and-down after missing the green. He pushed his drive on the par-4 17th, hit his approach on the green and two-putted, then pulled his tee shot left on 18, recovered with a shot to the fairway and reached the green in three.

“I just drew back on some experience,” Bowditch said.

MacKenzie made a 13-foot birdie putt on the 17th to pull within a stroke of Bowditch, but the Australian tapped in from 2 feet for his birdie at No. 14 to push the advantage back to two.

Matt Kuchar and Andrew Loupe shot 75s to tie for fourth at 6-under.

Calgary’s Stephen Ames finished tied for 16th at 1-under 287. The result is his best finish since the 2012 Mayakoba Golf Classic, where he also tied for 16th.

Brights Grove, Ont’s Mike Weir tied for 56th at 5-over 293.

SAN ANTONIO – Steven Bowditch opened a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Texas Open, while Phil Mickelson withdrew after 10 holes because of a pulled muscle in his right side.

Bowditch, the 30-year-old Australian seeking his first PGA Tour title, shot a 4-under 68 to reach 12 under at TPC San Antonio. Matt Kuchar and Andrew Loupe were tied for second. Kuchar shot 65, and Loupe had a 70.

“I’ve won four or five times on between Australia and Web.com,” said Bowditch, who would get into the Masters with a victory. “I’ve got a little experience, but not a great deal, especially at this level. I’ve never slept on a lead, so we’ll see how we go.”

Mickelson withdrew after pulling the muscle teeing off on No. 1 – his 10th hole of the round. He hopes to play next week in the Houston Open, the last event before the Masters.

“I pulled a muscle on my downswing trying to hit it hard,” Mickelson said a statement. “It just killed and it wouldn’t subside for 10 or 12 seconds. I’m going back to San Diego (for) a couple of days and have a doctor look at it, but there’s really not much you can do for a pulled muscle. I hope I’ll be OK to play the Shell in Houston, but I just don’t know.”

Lefty was 1-over par in the round and 4 over overall when the three-time Masters champion was taken off the course in a cart. His caddie, Jim Mackay, said Mickelson felt a twinge on his tee shot on No. 1.

“It’s definitely not his back,” Mackay said. “It’s his right side. The thing he had been talking about is how good his back had been feeling here. He’ll definitely play Houston, if he can.”

It’s the second time this year Mickelson has withdrawn in the middle of a tournament. He pulled out at Torrey Pines after making the cut because of a back injury.

On Friday, Mickelson made the cut on the number, following an opening 77 with a 70.

Bowditch, ranked 339th in the world, chipped in at the first two holes, for birdie at No. 1 and an eagle at the par-5 second. He drove to chipping distance at the 338-yard fifth hole and made a 4-foot birdie putt.

“(The chip on the first hole) calmed my nerves a little bit,” Bowditch said. “It was as easy a chip as you’re going to have out here.”

He cooled after that when he missed the green at No. 9 and bogeyed, then strung together pars until he drove close to the at the 324-yard downwind 17th. He chipped inside a foot and tapped in for birdie and kept his two-stroke lead when Loupe matched the birdie.

Loupe closed with a bogey.

Kuchar, a six-time winner on the tour, had the best round of the week. He holed out the greenside bunker on No. 1.

“Still surprised to be at 7 under today,” Kuchar said. “It’s not a score I would have thought was out there with these sort of (windy) conditions.”

Pat Perez was fourth at 8 under after a 69.

Kevin Na, who had a 16 on the ninth hole three years ago, was 7 under after a 69.

Calgary’s Stephen Ames shot 68 Saturday, moving him into a tie for 14th at 3 under 213.

Brights Grove, Ont.’s Mike Weir was even par on the day. The 72 helped him climb 13 spots into a tie for 56th at 3 over 219.

SAN ANTONIO – Phil Mickelson made the cut on the number in the Texas Open on Friday, blasting out of a greenside water hazard to 5 feet to set up a birdie on the final hole.

Mickelson shot a 2-under 70 after opening with a 77 – his worst score of the season – on TPC San Antonio’s AT&T Oaks Course. Lefty was 11 strokes behind leader Steven Bowditch, the Australian who had a 67 to reach 8-under 136.

Mickelson was in the stream that runs in front of the 18th green after attempting to reach the par 5 in two from 288 yards with a 3-wood.

“I needed to make a birdie to have a chance at playing tomorrow,” Mickelson said. “Fortunately, barely went in, and it looked like the water overlapped the grass. It was not that hard of a shot.”

Bowditch holed out from 83 yards for an eagle on the par-4 12th. The 30-year-old topped the leaderboard at the end of a round for the first time in his PGA Tour career.

“My wedge shots have been pretty good,” Bowditch said. “I was trying to hit (the one on No. 12) a little past the pin and hope it came back to a reasonable distance. Got lucky.”

He closed the round with a double bogey on the par-4 ninth, taking two chips to get out of the heavy rough.

Chad Collins and rookie Andrew Loupe were a stroke back. Collins shot 66, and Loupe had a 70.

Mickelson has struggled this year and entered the Texas Open for the first time in 22 years to put his game under competitive conditions as a preparation for the Masters. He knew he had a chance to make the cut even after a bogey on No. 15 dropped him to 3 over.

“I was on the green for five minutes and (the 3-over score) went from 74th to 71st in five minutes,” Mickelson said, “so I figured that 3 over had a pretty good chance of making it because the scores were coming back.”

On the 18th, Mickelson pulled off his left shoe and rolled up that pants leg and gave it a shot with his foot in the water.

“It’s important that I get more mentally into the round like I did today,” Mickelson said. “Yesterday, I was very sloppy. I like the way I’m driving the ball. My speed is back. My back feels great. My body feels great, and I’m able to hit the ball hard again.”

Plus, after having 17 putts on his second nine Thursday, he opened his second round Friday with one-putts on eight of his first nine holes. He was 3 under for the round until taking two shots to get out of a greenside bunker and bogeying No. 8.

Only two of the top 15 players on the leaderboard are in the top 100 of the world ranking. Sixth-place Kevin Na is 78th in the world and ninth-place Zach Johnson is 10th.

Bowditch is 339th, Collins 315th and Loupe 505th.

Stephen Ames of Calgary is 1-over 145 and tied for 43d.

Brights Grove, Ont.’s Mike Weir made his first cut of 2014 and is sitting tied for 69th 3-over 147.

Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch didn’t make the cut. He improved on an opening-round 80 with a 74 Friday, but his 10-over total meant he missed his fifth cut in nine starts on the year.

SAN ANTONIO – Long after the fog cleared at TPC San Antonio, Phil Mickelson remained shrouded in an increasingly alarming funk with the Masters two weeks away.

Mickelson shot a 5-over 77 on Thursday in the Texas Open to fall nine strokes back during the suspended first round. The 77 was Lefty’s highest score since a 78 in August in the PGA Championship.

“I had been playing real well at home, so to come out and play like this is disappointing,” Mickelson said. “Just didn’t feel quite sharp.”

In his previous two starts, Mickelson missed the cut in the Honda Classic and tied for 16th three weeks ago at Doral in the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship. He made his only other Texas Open appearance in 1992, so long ago that the event was only his 11th professional start on the PGA Tour.

Pat Perez and Danny Lee shot 4-under 68 to share the clubhouse lead and Andrew Loupe was 4 under with seven holes to play when darkness forced the suspension of play. The start was delayed 2 hours, 40 minutes because of fog, and 45 players were unable to finish the round.

Area resident Cameron Beckman, Puerto Rico Open winner Chesson Hadley, Will McKenzie and Seung-Yul Noh shot 69, and Miguel Angel Carballo and Justin Hicks also were 3 under. Carballo had four left, and Hicks three.

Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar shot 70.

Defending champion Martin Laird opened with a 72, matching Valspar winner John Senden and Jeff Maggert, a winner last week in Mississippi in his Champions Tour debut.

Ernie Els and Stephen Ames shot 74. Former Texas star Jordan Spieth had a 75.

Mike Weir opened with a 76, while Brad Fritsch was 5-over thru 12 when played was suspended.

Area resident Jimmy Walker had a 76. He has a tour-high three victories this season, winning the Frys.com Open, Sony Open and Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Mickelson hit half of the greens in regulation on the Greg Norman-designed T&T Oaks Course, bogeyed three of the four par 3s and closed with a double bogey on the par-4 ninth.

“I didn’t putt well,” said Mickelson, who had 17 putts on the second nine that he played in 4-over 40. “I had a couple of three-putts that hurt. Iron play wasn’t great. I didn’t drive it bad, until that last hole.”

On the 462-yard ninth, his drive sailed so far right he hit a provisional. He didn’t need it, but it took him three to find the green and he ended up three-putting, missing from 10 and 2 feet.

“Just blocked it,” he said.

He also will play next week in the Houston Open before heading to Augusta National.

The fog kept temperatures in the 50s before it burned off and gave way to sun and readings in the 80s.

“This morning it was freezing, and I hit balls (on the practice range) in four layers of clothes,” Perez said. “Now, I’m sweating.”

One under after a bogey on the 15th, Perez finished with three birdies on putts from more than 10 feet – including a 17-footer on the final hole.

Lee, the 2008 U.S. Amateur champion at Pinehurst No. 2, finished with consecutive birdies with putts inside 13 feet on the 17 and 18. He finished second three weeks ago in Puerto Rico.