Phil Mickelson is having fun again at the PGA Championship

50-year-old Phil Mickelson, without a top-10 in a major since 2016, takes the lead after his second round at the PGA Championship

A lot of fun. That’s how Phil Mickelson is describing his first two rounds this week at the PGA Championship.

Less than a month away from his 51st birthday, Mickelson is playing like a kid. He’s swinging with freedom, holing long putts, all the while flashing a big smile as he finds himself in contention in a major championship for the first time in a long time.

Mickelson shot a three-under 69 on Friday at Kiawah Island to finish at five-under thru 36 holes, in sole possession of the clubhouse lead by two shots over Branden Grace. With the afternoon wave still to come, Mickelson would be the oldest 36-hole leader at the PGA Championship since Sam Snead led at the halfway mark in 1966 at the age of 54.

Mickelson’s round was nearly an exact replica from the one he played on Thursday: a slow start, a thunderous roar to finish it off. In the first round, he was three-over after six holes before closing at two-under. Today, he was just even par making the turn after bogeys at the difficult 17th and 18th. He then made five birdies on his closing nine, capping off his round with a 23-foot birdie putt on the ninth (his 18th) that caught the left side of the cup and fell in.

“I’m having a lot of fun,” Mickelson said following his round. “And 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. I’m excited for the weekend. This has been a lot of fun.”

Mickelson getting another chance at sixth major

It’s an opportunity that was starting to look as if he would never get again. Mickelson hasn’t finished in the top-10 at the PGA Championship since 2014. His last four results at this tournament have included two missed cuts and two 71st place finishes. His scoring average since 2017 is 72.8, with just two sub-par rounds over his previous 12.

Mickelson’s last top-10 at a major came nearly five years ago when he was runner-up to Henrik Stenson at the Open Championship in 2016. He hasn’t led at this stage of the PGA Championship since he lifted the Wanamaker Trophy at Baltusrol in 2005.

He’s looked every bit like a player entering the twilight of his career so far this season, not one that would contend for a major. In 14 events in 2021, he hasn’t finished better than 21st. He has just one top-10 on tour over the last year and hasn’t won a tournament in more than two years.

But a major championship, complete with the returning galleries that are firmly in his corner, is bringing out the best in Mickelson. He’s playing like a five-time major champion, not someone preparing to go play on the Champions Tour. Mickelson ranks 175th in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green this season. He’s fifth so far this week. Off the tee, he ranks 193rd for the year but 12th at Kiawah Island.

He gives most of the credit to his brother/caddie, Tim. “I’ve driven it well, but I think the thing I’ve done the best is my brother Tim and I have done a really good job of judging the wind,” he said. “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.”

His approach game was solid on Friday. At the fourth, he hit his second shot from 193 yards to three feet for a birdie. On the 207-yard, par-three fifth hole, his tee shot settled 15 feet from the flag, setting up another birdie.

Julius Boros is the oldest major champion, winning the PGA at the age of 48 in 1968. Mickelson is nearly three years older than Boros. In a head-to-head battle, Father Time usually wins. But Mickelson is trying to prove that age isn’t going to slow him down.