LOS ANGELES – Phil Mickelson looked unbeatable until a 30-inch putt spun around the rim of the cup, giving him the first of three bogeys on the back nine that cost him a cushion, but ultimately not the lead, Saturday in the Nissan Open.

Mickelson got up-and-down for birdie on the par-5 17th and shot 2-under 69 in the steamy sunshine at Riviera, giving him a one-shot lead over Padraig Harrington (70) as he tries to win for the second straight week.

“I was tied for the lead yesterday. I’ve got a one-shot lead today. So, it’s getting better,” said Mickelson, who was at 13-under 200. “It wasn’t the lead I wanted, but it’s getting better.”

Mickelson will be in the final group with Harrington and Rich Beem, who delivered the theatrics by making a hole-in-one on the 14th hole that sent him leaping atop the red sports car that he won for his ace. More than getting a new car, Beem suddenly has a chance at his first trophy since the 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine.

Beem shot the best round of the day, a 6-under 65, and was only two shots behind.

Former Nissan Open champion Robert Allenby (68) and Charles Howell III (69) were another shot behind, setting up a typical Sunday off Sunset Boulevard when several players have a chance.

Creamer wins opener

KAHUKU, Hawaii – Paula Creamer won the LPGA Tour’s season-opening SBS Open on Saturday for her first victory since 2005, handling the whipping wind to hold off Julieta Granada by a stroke.

The 20-year-old Creamer closed with a 2-under 70 for a 9-under 207 total and earned $165,000 for her third LPGA Tour title. In 2005 as a rookie, she won two LPGA Tour titles and also took two tournaments in Japan.

Granada, who won the season-ending ADT Championship and helped give Paraguay its first Women’s World Cup title last month, shot a 69.

Karrie Webb closed with a 70 to finish third at 6 under.

LPGA player of the year Lorena Ochoa, coming off a six-win season, was another stroke back along with Janice Moodie (72) and 18-year-old Morgan Pressel (74).

Granada holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th to tie Creamer for the lead at 8 under. But Creamer, playing in the final group, regained the lead by sinking a 40-foot birdie putt on No. 17 that went left, then veered to the right at the end.

She smiled, hopped twice and shook her fist as the gallery cheered. Granada, meanwhile, signed autographs as she waited for a possible playoff.

Creamer, however, safely reached the 18th green in three and two-putted for par from 15 feet for the victory. She smiled and chomped her putter.