Levin's 63 gives him Phoenix Open lead after 36 holes

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Spencer Levin took one last drag on his cigarette, stamped it out in the rough and climbed into the bunker behind the 17th green. He set up quickly, took a quick glance at the hole and splashed out.

The ball landed about 10 feet from the hole, bounced twice and rolled into the cup for an eagle-2 that pushed him to 14-under par Friday in the second round of the Phoenix Open. A few minutes - and another cigarette - later, he parred the 18th for an 8-under 63 and a three-stroke lead.

"Hopefully, I can just keep trying to believe in myself and just keep trying to make my swing, and we'll see what happens," Levin said. "I'm going to give it my best shot. It should be fun. I'm looking forward to it."

Harrison Frazar was 6 under for the round and 11 under overall with three holes left at TPC Scottsdale when play was suspended because of darkness.

"There toward the end it was getting kind of tough to control the ball and to see it," said Frazar, the St. Jude Classic winner last year. "The temperature dropped, so the ball flies a little differently."

Webb Simpson, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 6, was third at 8 under along with tour rookie John Huh. Simpson shot a 69 in the last group to finish play on No. 18, and Huh had a 66.

"That was probably the darkest I've ever played," Simpson said. "I couldn't really see anything."

Kyle Stanley was 7 under after a 66 as he tries to rebound from a devastating loss last week. On Sunday at Torrey Pines, he made a triple-bogey 8 on the final hole of regulation and lost to Brandt Snedeker in a playoff.

The 27-year-old Levin, remembered for a hole-in-one and 13th-place tie in the 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock while still in school at New Mexico, is winless on the PGA Tour. He came close last year, losing a playoff to Johnson Wagner in the Mayakoba Golf Classic. At Torrey Pines, Levin had a share of the first-round lead after a 62, but followed with rounds of 76, 73 and 72 to tie for 43rd.

"Last week, I played great the first round and didn't play well the rest of the week, but overall I think my game is getting better," Levin said.

Fan favorite Phil Mickelson finished off a 70 at dusk to reach 4 under. He had a bogey and a double bogey in a front-nine 38, then made four birdies - the last drawing the loudest cheers of the day on the amphitheater par-3 16th - on the back nine.