Big Three make plenty of noise in Boston

Singh, who has been working on a different backswing and club position at the top of his swing, made an eight-stroke improvement from Friday's opener. The first round marked the first time he had tried the tweaks, he said.

"Doing it with Tiger and Phil probably wasn't ideal," he laughed.

Truth be told, toss out the triple-bogey he made on the ninth hole in the first round and Mickelson has been nearly flawless. Mickelson, whose ailing left wrist has finally healed, seems to be on one of his can't-miss trajectories last seen at the Players Championship in mid-May, his last win.

Mickelson has never before played the event, completed a grand total of one practice round beforehand, yet has been in the fairway on 22 of 28 driving holes. That's a good bit better than his 55 percent driving percentage he's posted for the year, and as a result, it's been green-light city when gunning for flags.

"Playing from the fairway allowed me to play aggressively to the pins and be thinking birdie on every hole rather than fighting for par," Mickelson said.

That particular battle took place in the first round. This time, the three winningest active players on the PGA Tour played to their considerable pedigrees. Mickelson and Woods, in fact, are squarely in the competitive mix with two days left to play.

Afterward, Woods was asked about his 1-over 72 on Friday and how long it had been since he failed to break par. Actually, it was in the first round of the PGA Championship, his last start.

"I came back nicely there, too," Woods grinned.

Yeah, he won.

Mickelson enjoyed the two days in the premier trio so much he wants more of the same in Monday's final round. Butch Harmon, his swing coach and Woods' former teacher, gave Mickelson some insider information on things to watch when playing with Woods. Mickelson declined to provide specifics, but it must have something to do with Woods' mannerisms or peccadilloes.

Maybe Woods has been demystified a bit.

"In the past I haven't really played that well with Tiger, per se," Mickelson said. "But he [Harmon] told me a couple of things he [Woods] likes to do, and I was watching for it, and I chuckled throughout the round when I'd pick up on it."

Mickelson stubbornly wouldn't offer more, other than Harmon's insight seemed to work.

"It's really helped because I find myself chuckling at it now and played much more relaxed and had a good time today," Mickelson said.

This time, who didn't?