PGA Championship 2021 R2
May 20-23
Ocean Course, Kiawah Island, SC
Round 1, Round 3, Round 4

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

KIAWAH ISLAND, SC. After nine holes of his second round, it appeared Phil Mickelson was heading backwards and that the 50-year-old's moments from a fine first round of 70 would be his main contribution. Guess again.

Mickelson brilliantly rallied on the front nine -- his back nine -- for a scorching 31 total which included five birdies against no scorecard blemishes.

The gallery that followed Lefty was smitten with the svelte physique Phil is now sporting and the golf he showcased had galleries whooping it up in a big-time manner. Mickelson's 70-69 has him sharing the top position halfway through the 103rd PGA Championship. 

Just a few weeks ago at the Wells Fargo event Mickelson opened up with a 64 before fading during the final three rounds.

Should Phil somehow pull out a victory it would mean his 2nd PGA Championship -- but more importantly, accomplish something never done in the history of golf in surpassing Julius Boros who is golf's oldest major winner at 48 when winning the 1968 PGA Championship. Mickelson's last major championship win came in 2013 at The Open Championship at Muirfield and his last PGA TOUR victory was at the 2019 AT&T Pro-Am event which he claimed for the 5th time.

The pathway for Mickelson will not be easy. A stellar leaderboard includes a number of world class players. Sharing the 36-hole lead with Mickelson is Louis Oosthuizen. The South African played a solid round featuring five birdies and a lone bogey at the 18th. Four-time major winner Brooks Koepka took an early stumble in the 2nd round with two bogeys in the first six holes before making eagles at the par-5 7th and 11th holes respectively. An additional birdie at the 12th had Koepka atop the leaderboard but two late round bogeys at the 15th and 17th holes have him just one shot back.  

Koepka's fallback was matched by Brendan Grace. The South African had moved up the leaderboard with quality play with four birdies to snare the outright lead at -6 before taking a major tumble at the dangerous par-3 17th scoring double-bogey and then ending his round with a concluding bogey. Nonetheless, Grace is just two shots behind the leaders.

Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama also made a strong move during the 2nd round posting a score of 68 and could have been better if not for a final hole bogey at the challenging 18th hole. The Japanese star player will begin the 3rd round just two shots off the joint lead.

First round leader Casey Conners stumbled in his opening nine holes but recovered with two late birdies for a round of 75. He will start the 3rd round three shots back.

All in all, the final 36 holes for possession of the Wannamaker Trophy is shaping up to be a major tussle. Who could have imagined a 50-year-old sitting atop the leaderboard? 

What will Phil do next. Stay tuned.

Notes --

*The PGA of America originally was going to keep on-site gallery size to a max of 10,000. That number has since been expanded with weekend totals likely to rise to 15,000 each day.

*The cut after the first two rounds fell at +5 - 147. Among the notable going home early include world number one ranked Dustin Johnson. DJ was out of sorts for the event scoring a 150 total. This is Johnson's first missed cut at a major championship since the 2018 Open Championship. The concerns about where Johnson is at from a golfing perspective are only intensifying.

*Ian Poulter displayed vintage form in the 2nd round -- scoring four birdies and an eagle at the par-5 7th -- which elevated him to -4 for the championship and just one shot behind then leader Brendan Grace. Once Poulter reached the par-4 13th he pulled his tee shot into the deep rough, his recovery only fared even worse and he was fortunate to escape with a bogey. However, the positive early momentum evaporated as he concluded the final five holes with three other bogeys. The Englishman now stands at even par and can only shake his head and wonder what happened.

*Once again -- the hardest holes came late in the round with the likes of the 15th, 17th and 18th holes. Playing back into the wind for the second consecutive day the impact of the holes was demonstrated on the scorecards of a number of players. Most notably, Brendan Grace who reached the 17th tee at -6 for the championship courtesy of four birdies against no hiccups on the scorecard. That changed rapidly with a double-bogey on the 17th and a concluding bogey on the 18th. The South African is still a contender at -3 but the impact of the finish will clearly be on his mind when Saturday's 3rd round gets underway.

*Weather conditions for the final 36-holes expect sunny skies but wind directions are expected to shift following 3rd round play. With wind flipping around from the opposite direction, The Ocean Course will feature an entirely different situation with Sunday's final round.

*Three of the toughest holes, thus far, in the championship have come in the final four holes. The par-3 17th is the most challenging with a stroke average of 3.589. The 2nd most demanding is the 18th -- coming in at 4.503. Both holes have yielded the fewest birdies in the event with 12 each. The water-protected 17th has also inflicted the most "other" scores for the event with a mindboggling 10 total.

*Rory McIlroy, the pre-tournament betting favorite, recovered from his opening round 75 and scored 72 to finish at 147 and T38. 

*Rickie Fowler, who received an exemption into the event from the PGA of America, did not fare as well as he did in the opening round -- scoring 76 after a first round 71.