Halfway home and my guys are right there

Saturdays are called "moving day" on the pro golf tour, when players get themselves into position to contend for a title.

Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els decided they couldn't wait that long. The two tour veterans, both 40 and with a combined seven major championships between them, put themselves into contention on Friday in the second round of the U.S. Open.

Mickelson, winner of three Masters and a PGA Championship, fired a 5-under-par 66 at Pebble Beach Golf Links. He birdied four of his first six holes and had nine 3s on his card. Els, the tall South African who has two U.S. Open trophies and a British Open title to his credit, came in with a 3-under 68. The two of them are tied for second with Dustin Johnson and Japanese teen Ryo Ishikawa at 1-under 141, two shots behind Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, who backed up his opening 71 with a second-round 68.

And though I felt pretty good about my pre-tournament picks halfway through the Masters in April, I can't believe my good fortune at the midway point of the U.S. Open. Of my 12 players to beat, 11 made the cut. Three, Mickelson, Ishikawa and Johnson, are in the top 5, and, having picked South Korea's K.J. Choi and England's Ian Poulter, tied for 10th at 143 are identical 70-73 starts, I have five of the top 12.

Lee Westwood is my sixth-lowest player, tied for 16th at 3-over 145. Two others, Jim Furyk and Nick Watney, are tied for 37th at 147. Australian Robert Allenby and Ricky Barnes, at 148, are tied for 48th. Steve Stricker, at 149, was tied for 59th and just made the cut.

The only one of my pre-tourney predictions who failed to make the cut was Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy. The 21-year-old got schooled by the 18-year-old Ishikawa and 60-year-old Tom Watson in one of the most unusual pairings of the tournament. While McIlroy was shooting a sour 77 and going home at 152, Ishikawa and Watson were matching 71s to earn the right to play the weekend.

Oh, yeah, I hear Tiger Woods is also playing at Pebble Beach this week. In fact, you can't stop hearing about him on ESPN and NBC, and the official website guys (imagine fingernails on a chalkboard) at www.usopen.com are flapping their gums about a Tiger comeback. Considering their anointed one hasn't broken par either of the first two rounds and is seven shots back at 146, they better pack a lunch for that wait.

My money's still with Mickelson. He and Els are the only ones in the top 15 who have already won a major. It should make for an interesting weekend.