Phil Mickelson and England’s Ross Fisher began to make inroads into Retief Goosen’s overnight lead at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational as second-round play got under way at the Firestone Country Club.

World number two Mickelson had shot an opening-round two-under-par 68 in Akron, Ohio, to trail Goosen by two strokes, with Ernie Els a further shot back.

Playing alongside Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and Els, in the first group to start their rounds on the back nine, both Mickelson and Els birdied the 410-yard par-four 10th hole.

But as Els hit the skids, bogeying the 13th and double-bogeying the 14th, Mickelson pulled level with Goosen at four-under courtesy of a birdie three at the 14th, the fifth hole of his round.

Fisher had shared the lead with Goosen at four-under during his opening round, only to implode with a triple-bogey seven at the eighth, his penultimate hole last night.

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