So much for any throwbacks to the War on the Shore, the tagline given to that feisty Ryder Cup all those years ago (in 1991, actually); for the latest edition of the US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island - on seaside terrain - has the potential to provide a fascinating episode more akin to Dad’s Army, with 50-year-old Phil Mickelson moving to centre-stage in the drama.
“I wouldn’t put it past him. In the position he is in, I expect him to contend and I wouldn’t put it past him to be there at the end of the week, for sure. I think he has the bit between his teeth. I think he believes he can do it in these conditions,” said Pádraig Harrington - another to defy his 49 years - of Mickelson’s move into contention in search of a sixth career Major, some 15 years after the man known as Lefty last reached such heights.
On a dry, windy day in South Carolina, Mickelson - who came to life with an inward run of 31 strokes, five birdies - claimed the clubhouse lead with a 69 for midway total of five-under-par 139, while Harrington, for his part, showed much of his old self in delivering a 73 for 144, five shots back, and poised for a weekend charge.
As Shane Lowry - who also hit the midpoint on the same 144 mark as Harrington - put it, with a smile on his face, “it’s great to see those boys playing well and out here competing. It just shows you that age is only a number.”
However, a whole cast of thoroughbreds moved themselves nicely into position by the end of Friday’s round with Louis Oosthuizen managing to take his place at the top alongside Mickelson. The South African kept the bogeys off his card until the very last hole when a long approach resulted in a five to finish and a round of 68 to go into the weekend at five under.
Brooks Koepka, continuing to defy a knee injury, carded a second round of 71 for a total of four under to sit one shot off the leaders, his eyes locked on adding a third Wanamaker Trophy to the collection.
One shot further back is Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, showing more impressive form in the quest for two Major titles in a row and lurking dangerously at three under after a 68, alongside the South African duo of Branden Grace and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
And what of Rory McIlroy? Well the four-time Major winner ensured that he will be around for the weekend thanks to a round of 72 but, at three over par, he is eight shots off the lead and ruing a run of three bogeys to finish.
After his disappointing 75 on day one, McIlroy knew he needed an improvement on Friday and he set about doing that with a birdie at the first. However, it’s the Par 5s that have, unexpectedly, caused the recent Wells Fargo champion the most trouble this week. With a bogey at the Par 5 second, for the second day in a row after finding trouble off the tee, he moved back to three over.
However, McIlroy did manage to get it going from there on with birdies at the sixth, ninth and 11th to get back to level par for the tournament. But then, once again, it was a Par 5 - this time the 16th - which got the better of the four-time Major winner. After finding trouble off the tee down the left McIlroy eventually tapped in for a bogey six to drop back to one over for the tournament.
And with the fearsome Par 3 17th playing as the hardest hole on the course over the first two days, it was not going to get any easier for McIlroy. Indeed another bogey would follow there after he found the left bunker with his tee shot and, after a wild approach at the 18th, it was a run of three bogeys to finish leaving the Holywood man at three over par and a long way off adding a fifth Major title to the trophy cabinet.
Not that life was made too comfortable at all for the rest of those endeavouring to lift the Wanamaker Trophy, as the fate that befell others who suffered scar tissue and mental wounds testified. Cameron Tringale, for one, suffered a run of 10-7-5 in his stretch from the 16th to the 18th in his second round, while first round leader Corey Conners clung dearly to his chances in following his opening 67 with a 75.
As for world number one Dustin Johnson? Well, it proved to be a rather chastening experience for DJ, out-of-sorts on all fronts and adding a 74 to 76 to add a missed cut in the PGA to the one he suffered at the Masters last month. Others to flounder included Sergio Garcia, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Thomas while Jordan Spieth just about squeaked into the weekend despite a three-putt on his final hole for a 75 to finish at four over, the cut mark eventually falling at one shot more than that.
Mickelson has made a number of excursions onto the Champions Tour to annex a couple of titles but his mind and his body remain sharp and fit enough for the biggest of challengers against the conveyor belt of young guns who have moved seamlessly on to the main circuit. Mickelson, though, reveled in the serious questions asked of players.
“I think myself, Phil would find it easier to compete on this style of golf course in these conditions in a Major tournament all the time. You can be patient in these courses, and obviously you’ve got to make a few birdies, but it suits somebody who is a player, somebody who is thinking,” said Harrington of how patience (and golfing intelligence) make mental fortitude as much as physical shot-making prime requisites on the Pete Dye-designed seaside course.
One part of Mickelson’s game which provided the foundation of much of his good scoring was his driving. He found 11 of 14 fairways in a second round which came alive once he made the turn, with birdies being delivered at the second, fourth, fifth, seventh and finally at the ninth, his closing hole, where the gallery responded to his showman antics with roars akin to those of old.
“I’ve driven it well but I think the thing I’ve done the best is my brother Tim (on the bag) and I have done a really good job of judging the wind, judging the flight and picking clubs with the right flight to get the right distance, and so we’ve hit a lot of iron shots pin high,” said Mickelson, who has taken to meditation in seeking to extend his career.
As he explained, “I’m trying to use my mind like a muscle and just expand it because, as I’ve gotten older, it’s been more difficult for me to maintain a sharp focus, a good visualisation and see the shot. Physically I feel like I’m able to perform and hit the shots that I’ve hit throughout my career, and I feel like I can do it every bit as well as I have, but I’ve got to have that clear picture and focus. So, these two days have been much better.”
So, Mickelson reached the midpoint of this PGA, his 113th appearance in a Major championship, with as much hunger as ever and with a wealth of experienced unmatched by anyone in the field.
As Harrington, who played the first two rounds with Mickelson, observed: “I’m bullish about where I am and I’m sure Phil is too . . . he’s not here to make the cut. Even 15th would be a disappointment. You know what? Even second would be a disappointment for Phil.”
Second round scores from the US PGA Championship (USA unless stated, Par 72)
139 Phil Mickelson 70 69, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 71 68
140 Brooks Koepka 69 71
141 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Rsa) 71 70, Branden Grace (Rsa) 70 71, Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn) 73 68
142 Paul Casey (Eng) 71 71, Corey Conners (Can) 67 75, Sung Jae Im (Kor) 70 72, Kevin Streelman 70 72, Gary Woodland 70 72
143 Bryson DeChambeau 72 71, Harry Higgs 72 71, Charley Hoffman 73 70, Jason Kokrak 71 72, Martin Laird (Sco) 70 73, Joaquin Niemann (Chi) 71 72, Richy Werenski 71 72
144 Keegan Bradley 69 75, Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng) 73 71, Pádraig Harrington (Irl) 71 73, Viktor Hovland (Nor) 69 75, Shane Lowry (Irl) 73 71, Ian Poulter (Eng) 74 70
145 Tom Lewis (Eng) 71 74, Collin Morikawa 70 75, Cameron Smith (Aus) 72 73, Daniel van Tonder (Rsa) 75 70, Bubba Watson 72 73, Lee Westwood (Eng) 73 72, Will Zalatoris 71 74,
146 Abraham Ancer (Mex) 74 72, Patrick Cantlay 73 73, Tony Finau 74 72, Tyrrell Hatton (Eng) 71 75, Brad Marek 73 73, Scottie Scheffler 72 74, Matt Wallace (Eng) 73 73
147 Stewart Cink 71 76, Joel Dahmen 74 73, Cameron Davis (Aus) 69 78, Rickie Fowler 71 76, Rasmus Hoejgaard (Den) 71 76, Rory McIlroy (NIrl) 75 72, Carlos Ortiz (Mex) 73 74, Jon Rahm (Spa) 72 75, Justin Rose (Eng) 72 75, Steve Stricker 76 71, Jimmy Walker 73 74
148 Byeong-Hun An (Kor) 73 75, Daniel Berger 79 69, Dean Burmester (Rsa) 74 74, Brian Gay 77 71, Adam Hadwin (Can) 77 71, Russell Henley 78 70, Lucas Herbert (Aus) 76 72, Matt Jones (Aus) 73 75, Robert MacIntyre (Sco) 75 73, Jason Scrivener (Aus) 73 75, Jordan Spieth 73 75, Danny Willett (Eng) 77 71, Aaron Wise 69 79
149 Ben Cook 72 77, Jason Day (Aus) 74 75, Harris English 75 74, Talor Gooch 71 78, Emiliano Grillo (Arg) 77 72, Garrick Higgo (Rsa) 73 76, Tom Hoge 74 75, Billy Horschel 77 72, Sam Horsfield (Eng) 69 80, Chan Kim 75 74, Denny McCarthy 73 76, Alexander Noren (Swe) 77 72, Patrick Reed 74 75, Webb Simpson 75 74, Brendan Steele 75 74, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 73 76, Robert Streb 77 72, Harold Varner III 73 76, Wyndham Clark 75 74
The following players did not make the cut:
150 Sergio Garcia (Spa) 77 73, Brian Harman 75 75, Mackenzie Hughes (Can) 75 75, Dustin Johnson 76 74, Marc Leishman (Aus) 74 76, Peter Malnati 78 72, Victor Perez (Fra) 78 72, Chez Reavie 77 73, Antoine Rozner (Fra) 79 71, Xander Schauffele 73 77, Adam Scott (Aus) 78 72, Andy Sullivan (Eng) 73 77, Justin Thomas 75 75
151 Rich Beem 74 77, Thomas Detry (Bel) 76 75, Tommy Fleetwood (Eng) 76 75, Si Woo Kim (Kor) 75 76, Maverick McNealy 78 73, Sebastian Munoz (Col) 77 74, Brendon Todd 74 77
152 Danny Balin 79 73, Jason Dufner 71 81, Dylan Frittelli (Rsa) 73 79, Lanto Griffin 74 78, Zach Johnson 74 78, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 75 77, Chris Kirk 76 76, Ryan Palmer 74 78, Cameron Tringale 70 82
153 Jim Herman 78 75, Greg Koch 76 77, J. T. Poston 75 78, Hudson Swafford 77 76, Erik van Rooyen (Rsa) 72 81, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 78 75
154 John Catlin 75 79, George Coetzee (Rsa) 75 79, Max Homa 78 76, Kevin Kisner 77 77, Kurt Kitayama 77 77, Matt Kuchar 77 77, Adam Long 72 82, Kalle Samooja (Fin) 74 80, Sami Valimaki (Fin) 78 76, Brett Walker 77 77
155 Pete Ballo 80 75, Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Kor) 78 77, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 76 79
156 Mark Geddes 75 81, Tim Pearce 79 77, Ben Polland 76 80, Aaron Rai (Eng) 81 75
157 Jazz Janewattananond (Tha) 77 80, Rob Labritz 76 81, Kevin Na 79 78, Brandon Hagy 77 80
159 Cameron Champ 82 77, Rikuya Hoshino (Jpn) 76 83, Stuart Smith 82 77
160 Thomas Pieters (Bel) 76 84
161 Alex Beach 75 86, Takumi Kanaya (Jpn) 75 86, Shaun Micheel 81 80, Brandon Stone (Rsa) 78 83
162 Patrick Rada 76 86
163 Sonny Skinner 85 78
164 Larkin Gross 80 84
165 Frank Bensel 86 79, Derek Holmes 79 86, Joseph Summerhays 81 84, Omar Uresti 82 83
170 Tyler Collet 88 82
171 John Daly 85 86
