Phil Mickelson stayed away from all the celebrity commotion Saturday at Pebble Beach. More importantly, he stayed away from bogeys on the toughest day.

Mickelson took only 21 putts and shot a 6-under-par 66 to take a two-shot lead in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, leaving him one round away from tying the record with his fifth victory at this event.

‘‘It’s fun to be back in the thick of it,’’ Mickelson said.

It’s his first 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour since the 2013 US Open at Merion. Mickelson has gone 52 events worldwide since his last vic­tory at Muirfield in the 2013 British Open that gave him the third leg of the Grand Slam. It is the longest drought of his career.

He was at 16-under 199 and led by two shots over Hiroshi Iwata, who had a 69 at Spyglass Hill.

Freddie Jacobson had a 68 at Monterey Peninsula, which for the first time this week played the toughest of the three courses because of the brisk wind. He was three shots behind, along with Sung Kang, who had a 70 at Pebble Beach.

Jordan Spieth, the world’s No. 1 player, was happy to have a tee time Sunday.

Spieth struggled on the par-5s for the third straight round, playing them at 1 over at Pebble Beach. He had to get up-and-down for par on the par-5 18th for a 74 to make the cut on the number. He has played the par-5s in even par for the week.

‘‘I'm not in contention. It will be the first stress-free round that I've really had in quite a while where I've played a Sunday not having a chance to win,’’ Spieth said. ‘‘It’s not good, but at the same time, I think I can get into a groove and not lose any hair over the back nine. I'm going to fire at some pins.’’

Mickelson got as much as he could out of his 66.

He played at Pebble Beach with the rest of the celebrities, which is a tradition on this course, except that he teed off on the back nine and was on the opposite end of the golf course from the dancing, clowning, and raucous atmosphere on a gorgeous day once the fog lifted.

Mickelson’s pitch to the 18th went through the green, and he chipped in for a birdie to make the turn in 3 under. He had to scramble for par out of a bunker on No. 1. On the third hole, he drove into a fairway bunker and purposely played away from the flag, chipping just short of the green for a good angle at the pin.

He also had to get up and down for par on the short par-4 fourth hole. Those typically are the scoring holes, but he took off from there with three straight birdies, including a 20-foot putt on the 112-yard seventh hole, tougher than usual because of a firm green and a breeze at the back.

Even his birdie at the par-5 sixth was no picnic. Mickelson short-sided himself on his second shot and had to hit a flop shot over the bunker to about 4 feet. He closed with two solid pars (one from the front bunker on No. 8) and is trying not to look too far ahead to Sunday.

The next six players behind him on the leaderboard have combined for four PGA Tour victories. Mickelson is going for his 43d.

Mickelson, however, wasn’t taking anything for granted. This was a good score on a tough day.

‘‘It’s been awhile since I've been in contention and it would mean a lot to me to be able to play a good final round tomorrow,’’ he said. ‘‘And as well as I've been hitting the ball, the score was great, but the ball striking wasn’t indicative of how I've been hitting it. So I would like to get that dialed in for tomorrow’s round.’’

PGA champion Jason Day had a 68 at Pebble Beach to get within six shots of the lead.

Justin Rose was among five players to have at least a share of the lead at one point Saturday, reaching 13 under. He made four bogeys and no birdies over the final 11 holes, including going bunker-to-bunker around the 18th green for a bogey. That gave him a 72 and he was seven shots behind.

Ladies European — Unfazed by an earthquake just before she teed off, top-ranked Lydia Ko won the New Zealand Women’s Open for the third time in four years Sunday.

The magnitude 5.7 quake rattled the area about 10 minutes before Ko began play. She started the round on time and play wasn’t interrupted by the quake.

Ko closed with a 2-under 70 for a two-stroke victory. The 18-year-old South Korean-born New Zealander finished at 10-under 206 at Clearwater Golf Club. She also won the national championship in 2013 and 2015.

England’s Felicity Johnson, South Korean amateur Hye Jin Choi and Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen tied for second. Johnson shot 67, Choi 69, and Madsen 70.

The event was sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour and Australian Ladies PGA.

European — Charl Schwartzel will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Tshwane Open after a 66 took him to 9 under par overall in Pretoria, South Africa.

The former US Masters champion had three birdies and an eagle in the third round at Pretoria Country Club. His bogey on the last hole was his first dropped shot since the opening round.

Schwartzel won the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa in November for his first European Tour title in two years.

In Pretoria, he leads from fellow South African Zander Lombard. Two other home players, Haydn Porteous and Anthony Michael, are another two shots back on 6 under.

Englishman Toby Tree is the only non-South African in the top six, tied for fifth on 4 under with Dean Burmester.

Champions — Bernhard Langer followed his opening 10-under 62 with a 66 to increase his lead to seven strokes at the Chubb Classic in Naples, Fla.

The 58-year-old German star’s lead is the largest in the event after 36 holes. At 16-under 128, he’s closing in on the tournament-record 20-under total that he set in 2011 and Kenny Perry matched in 2012.

Langer won the event in 2011 and 2013.

Langer eagled the par-5 fifth and added birdies on Nos. 5, 6, 16, and 17.

Perry and Scott Dunlap were tied for second. Perry had a 67, and Dunlap shot 66.