Saturday, September 8, 2012
    Writing from Carmel, Indiana

    Phil Mickelson never played very well at Cog Hill, even before Rees Jones made the substantial changes that Mickelson thought unwise. His best finish there was a tie for eighth two years ago, when his total of 8-under 280 was five strokes behind winner Dustin Johnson thanks to a closing 67.
    He seems to be a Pete Dye fan, though. Mickelson opened the third round of the BMW Championship at 8-under, and after a bogey on the third hole, went on a tear. He birdied the fourth to stand level for the day, then birdied five of six holes starting on the par-3 sixth, including four in a row.
    That places Mickelson at 13-under for the tournament, and only a stroke behind leader Vijay Singh, 14-under through seven holes, as of 3 p.m. ET. Rory McIlroy, only 1-under on the day, is also 13-under for the BMW, a.k.a. the 109th Western Open.
    Tiger Woods? He’s going backwards, 3-over for the day and 9-under, tied for 17th after eight holes.
    Updates as warranted; a full report at the end of the day.
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    – Tim Cronin