If he triumphs at the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island this weekend, Mickelson, 50, will become the oldest winner of a major golf tournament.
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — As Phil Mickelson climbed a hillock to step onto the final green of his second round at the P.G.A. Championship on Friday, a shout from the crowd rose above the growing applause: “You’re not old, Phil.” Mickelson, who will turn 51 next month, smiled and flashed a thumbs up, his favorite non-verbal acknowledgment across a career dating to the early 1990s. Minutes later, when Mickelson sank a 22-foot birdie putt that put him near the top of the leaderboard just past noon on Friday, he boyishly bounded off the green, offering a thumbs up in every direction. Eight years after his last major championship victory, Mickelson shot a 69 to finish Friday at five under par for the event, and he will have a late tee time in the third round Saturday, along with the other tournament contenders. Two windswept days remain on the grueling Ocean Course, but Padraig Harrington, who played in Mickelson’s group in the first two rounds, saw something distinctive in his longtime rival’s deportment. “He has the bit between his teeth,” Harrington,49, said, using an expression for a horse that cannot be stopped. “I expect him to contend, to be there at the end of the week, for sure. “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.” Mickelson has won five major championships, a total that only 13 male golfers have bettered — just six after 1964. A victory this weekend would not only improve his standing in the sport’s pantheon, but would also make him the oldest major champion, taking the record from Julius Boros, who was 48 when he won the P.G.A. Championship 53 years ago. Harrington, who was one over par for the tournament after the second round and still in the title hunt, was asked if he had an appreciation for what Mickelson was trying to do at an age when many golfers have opted for the game’s senior tour.
