- Five-times major winner rolls back the years
- Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen in contention
We spent much of Saturday awaiting the moment whereby Phil Mickelson peeled back his sunglasses to reveal an alter ego. Or Phil Mickelson in his pomp. Just weeks short of his 51st birthday, 16 years after the one and only time he has lifted the Wanamaker Trophy, Mickelson was making a mockery of the US PGA Championship. In what is typically a tame and non-tribal environment, Mickelson was vociferously roared on from shot to shot. Victory in South Carolina would be the greatest of his career and render Mickelson the oldest major champion of all time. Phil brought the thrills and looked unstoppable.
Mere mortals wilted as Mickelson stood firm. When holing out for a birdie at the 10th, the five-time major winner had completed an 18-hole stretch in nine under par. Mickelson was five clear. Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course, remember, is depicted as among the most ferocious of major venues.
