Through 36 holes at the PGA Championship Phil Mickelson sits atop the leaderboard with South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen at -5. South Carolina’s Kiawah Island course has been friendly thus far to the lovable lefty as he becomes the first golfer aged 50 or older to lead a major since Fred Couples (2012 Masters).
The 44 time PGA winner can still hang with the best of them, and has shown that even at this stage of his career he can still post a low score. Posting low scores in sequence however has been something that’s eluded him of late. Phil is only two weeks removed from posting 5 double bogeys at Quail Hollow en route to shooting himself out of contention. And it’s that lack of focus over the course of 72 holes that has caused his world golf ranking to drop to 115th heading into this weekend.
For a player who has been one of the top golfers on the planet since the early 90’s, Mickelson has only posted two top 20 finishes over the past two seasons. Mickelson’s inconsistency was on full display a few weeks back when he posted an opening round 64 at the Wells Fargo Championship, only to have the wheels fall off with rounds of 75, 76, and 76 respectively.
Phil is fully aware of the ups and downs of his game of late, citing “focus” as one of the skills he’s been working on the most over the last few months. “I’m making more and more progress by trying to elongate my focus,” said Mickelson in his post round interview. So despite being halfway home, there’s still lots of golf to be played, and we’ve seen Mickelson’s scorecard blow up (especially in majors) in the past before.
Playing to Lefty’s favour, he’ll be paired up with the aforementioned Oosthuizen Saturday, whose game tends to be on the more conservative side of things. Avoiding a pairing with a more aggressive player like a Koepka may help keep Mickelson focused on making smart shots as opposed to being overly aggressive and possibly getting wild with his tee/approach shots. Ironically, what served him so well for so many years (i.e. his willingness to take risks on the course) is the same thing he’ll need to contain during his final two rounds.
That may be easier said than done however, as at this stage of his career, Phil likely won’t be satisfied with a top ten finish. Even a 2nd place finish would likely be viewed as a massive disappointment for Mickelson. He’s no longer playing for purses (his off course endorsements are more than enough to keep up his lifestyle), he’s playing for titles and legacy. So this weekend will be all about earning a 2nd Wannamaker trophy for his mantle. And whether that comes to fruition or not will largely hinge on his 3rd round. Can he keep it together to give himself a shot on Sunday? Or will we bear witness to another post-cut collapse which has become all too common for Phil in the last few years?
Tune in Saturday at 2:40pm to find out.