The 2021 PGA Championship is already at the halfway point, and Friday became a mini Moving Day at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course. With only two rounds left to play, here are five things you need to know ahead of Saturday’s third round.
Phil! Phil! Phil!
Phil Mickelson, 50 years old (!) and winner of five major championships, shares the lead at the 2021 PGA Championship. Lefty impressed on Thursday when he recovered from a bogey-filled first nine by posting a four-under 32 on the back to sign for a two-under 70. On Friday, he made five birdies on the front nine en route to a round of three-under 69, bringing his two-day total to five-under overall.
“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,” Mickelson said after his round. “To play well, to know I’m playing well heading into the weekend, to be in contention, to have a good opportunity, I’m having a blast.”
Mickelson is tied for the lead with Louis Oosthuizen, who has one major to this name: the 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews.
Big names in the mix
Mickelson and Oosthuizen have plenty of starpower looking to unseat them on Saturday, with nearly two dozen other players at even par or better. Notable chasers include four-time major winner Brooks Kopeka, only one shot back; Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, two shots back; 2019 U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland, three shots back; and reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, four shots back.
Tour Confidential: Who could mount a charge from 5 or more shots back?
Notables heading home
Players who failed to post a 36-hole score of five-over or better will be heading home early. Among them: Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Adam Scott and Xander Schauffele all finished six over and missed by one. Tommy Fleetwood, Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson were seven over, Martin Kaymer eight over, Matt Kuchar 10 over and Charl Schwartzel 11 over.
A triumph for the club pros
For 18 of the 20 PGA professionals in this week’s field, the PGA Championship experience is over. But two club-pro qualifiers, Ben Cook and Brad Marek, will see the tournament through after making the cut. Cook, the Director of Instruction at Yankee Springs Golf Course in Wayland, Mich., is playing his third straight PGA Championship and made the cut on the number at five over. Marek, a teaching professional at Corica Park in Alameda, Calif., is making his PGA Championship debut. He fired rounds of 73-73 and is currently T32 at two over.
Weather forecast
The weather has been close to ideal for the first two rounds, and Saturday is expected to be no different — albeit a bit cloudier. Temperatures are forecast to max out at 77 degrees, with wind speeds not exceeding nine mph. In short: Moving Day weather! Let’s go!
