SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - When Lefty gets it going, there's no telling how low the score might go.

Phil Mickelson, playing in the city he long called home, birdied the final five holes Friday to complete an 11-under 60, tying the course record.

"It was a wonderful day," Mickelson said. "No complaints here."

Arizona still feels like home to Mickelson, especially on a day such as Friday, when he had one of the best rounds of his life and one of the lowest scores in PGA Tour history.

Mickelson, who now lives in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., finished one stroke shy of the PGA Tour record for 18 holes - 59, shared by Al Geiberger, Chip Beck and David Duval. The Masters champion is the 16th player to shoot a 60.

Halfway through the 72-hole event, he shared the lead at 9-under 133 with 21-year-old Kevin Na, the youngest player on the PGA Tour.

It was the lowest round for Mickelson in an official PGA Tour event, bettering a third-round 61 in his 2001 Greater Hartford Open victory. He shot a 59 last Nov. 24 at the PGA Grand Slam. Mickelson tied the FBR Open - formerly the Phoenix Open - course record set by Grant Waite in 1996 and matched by Mark Calcavecchia in 2001.

Mickelson, seeking his 24th tour victory and first of 2005, had nine birdies and an eagle on the 7,216-yard Tournament Players Club course, where he won in 1996.

"I would have taken 65 and been ecstatic, because I would be 4 under and be within four or five of the lead going into the weekend," he said.

Wind that had disrupted play Thursday subsided, and the scores dropped accordingly.

Bernhard Langer and Michael Allen shot 66s Friday and were three shots behind. Nine players were another shot back at 5 under. First-round leader Dudley Hart shot a 73 and was 2 under.

Seventy-seven players made the cut at 3-over 145. Among those who didn't was Justin Leonard, winner of last week's Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. He went out at 146.

Mickelson had to finish his first round Friday morning after play was suspended Thursday by darkness. He began by sinking a birdie putt on the par-4, 332-yard 17th hole, then had an eagle, knocking it in from the fringe on the same hole in the second round later in the day.

Playing partner Tom Lehman shot 65, leaving him six shots back.

"I kind of got sucked in in the wake of Phil's 60," Lehman said. "That's kind of the way it felt. He played incredibly well and made the game look really easy today."

Mickelson was 4 over through 12 holes Thursday, but scrambled to a 73, six shots behind the leader entering the second round.

"The last nine holes yesterday were just as important as shooting 60 today, because it gave me a chance," he said.

He began on the back nine Friday with three consecutive pars, then had birdies on the 13th, 14th and 16th holes. On the 17th, he putted from the fringe and made it from 77 feet, the big gallery roaring in approval.

"Somehow the ball went in," Mickelson said. "It was great."

He got to 4 under with a birdie on the par-5, 554-yard third hole, then mounted his magnificent charge down the stretch.

Each of his last five approach shots was within 10 feet of the hole, and all were birdies. After missing the first six fairways Thursday, the hard-driving left-hander hit 16 of the remaining 22.

Now he wants to avoid a letdown.

"It's not like I'm going to shoot 60 again," he said. "My whole thought process is just to play solid. You're going to shoot 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-under par."