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      Mackenzie Hughes, Louis Oosthuizen, Russell Henley tied for lead at U.S. Open

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      Mackenzie Hughes, Louis Oosthuizen and Russell Henley are knotted at five under par, but Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm enter Sunday’s final round as threats.SAN DIEGO — There were plenty of intriguing story lines, but little sizzle, in the opening half of the 2021 United States Open. Richard Bland of England, who qualified for the championship by winning his first European Tour event after 477 failed attempts, was tied for the lead with Russell Henley, a PGA Tour veteran whose last tournament victory was four years ago.The spotlight of America’s national golf championship was desperately looking for a familiar face.In the third round on Saturday at Torrey Pines Golf Course, the sport’s headliners finally stepped to the edge of the stage, an experienced, decorated crew that may forecast a star-powered and suspenseful finish to Sunday’s final round.Henley finished the round at five under par overall and remained atop the leaderboard and was tied by another lesser-known player, Mackenzie Hughes of Canada. But with a thrilling 52-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole, Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open champion from South Africa, also vaulted into a tie for first. Moreover, Rory McIlroy, the five-time major champion, and Bryson DeChambeau, the defending U.S. Open champion, mustered charges that left them two strokes off the lead at three under.Jon Rahm, a prominent pretournament favorite because of his stellar play in the last month, was at two under, as was the resurgent Matthew Wolff, last year’s runner-up in the event, and Scottie Scheffler, another promising young player with several recent top finishes. Not to be overlooked at just four strokes off the lead were last year’s Masters champion Dustin Johnson, who shot a 68 on Saturday, and Collin Morikawa, the winner of the 2020 P.G.A. Championship.“Yeah, it was moving day, I guess,” McIlroy said afterward. “A lot of guys are playing well and getting in the fight. That’s what you have to do in the third round of a major.”McIlroy played his shot from No. 7 on Saturday. He finished the round with a 67.Gregory Bull/Associated PressMcIlroy started slowly on Saturday but had four birdies and a bogey on his final nine to finish with a 67, which was six strokes better than his second-round performance. His late run started when he chipped in from 33 yards at the 12th hole, and it concluded with a nervy downhill two-putt from 62 feet at the par-5 18th hole.Although McIlroy said the biggest shot of his back nine had been a 4-foot bogey putt at the 15th hole.“This is the only tournament in the world where you fist-pump a bogey,” he said. “That putt was huge for momentum — to not give away two strokes.”The superstitious McIlroy also said he was going to eat the same chicken sandwich he had had for the previous five dinners this week at Torrey Pines.“It’s really good, and it’s really working for me,” McIlroy said.DeChambeau had the most error-free day among the leaders, shooting a 68 without making a bogey. DeChambeau’s round could have been better, as he pounded many drives roughly 340 yards. But his approach shots did not consistently find the greens. Still, DeChambeau overpowered the lengthy first and sixth holes to make birdies on each and took advantage of the par-5 13th hole for a third birdie.Most encouraging for DeChambeau was his sharp short game, something he relied on during his victory at last year’s U.S. Open. As much as DeChambeau is known for how far he hits the golf ball, efficient play near the greens, and accurate putting, has usually been the best predictor of his success.As has been the case for the past few weeks, DeChambeau on Saturday was also taunted by fans who shouted “Let’s go, Brooks-y” after many of his swings — a nod to the running feud with his colleague Brooks Koepka.DeChambeau said afterward that he had learned to treat the shouts “as a compliment.”“I’m embracing it — I smile,” he said.DeChambeau prepared to putt on No. 15. He finished the day with a 68.Ezra Shaw/Getty ImagesKoepka, who like DeChambeau began the day at even par, did not improve his position with three birdies and three bogeys for a 71.Wolff had an erratic day and shot 73 with four bogeys, but after not playing competitively for the last two months, he was satisfied that he remained in the hunt for the championship.“I was a hair off out there at times,” Wolff, 22, said. “But I felt like I grinded pretty good and kept the scores as low as possible to give myself a good chance going into tomorrow.”Henley was one under par on his opening nine holes and held a two-shot lead on the field, an edge he kept when he lofted a shot from a right greenside bunker on the 11th hole and watched his ball bounce once and then disappear in the hole for a birdie.But it was Henley’s last birdie in an even-par round of 71.Hughes caught Henley with a blistering back nine, shooting a four-under 32. He will play in the final group on Sunday, paired with Oosthuizen.“You get goose bumps thinking about it,” Hughes said Saturday evening of the matchup. “I know I’m going to be nervous tomorrow. But yeah, I’m going to try and enjoy it lots. You know, it’s where you want to be.”Bland, after his stunning surge in Friday’s second round, seemed calm throughout his opening nine holes on Saturday with an uncomplicated swing that consistently set up par and birdie putts. But some of the magic of his putting stroke was missing. Bland had converted 31 of 31 putts inside 10 feet in the first two rounds. That streak ended on the fifth hole, when he missed an 8-foot par putt and made bogey.Things got worse, with consecutive bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes. Bland then left a 7-foot par putt short on the 16th hole, and his 20-foot par putt on the 17th green slid past the right side of the hole. The par-5 18th hole brought a most ignominious ending when Bland’s third shot plunked into the pond fronting the green. That led to a third successive bogey as he finished with a 77 and was one over for the tournament.“That’s the U.S. Open — some days it’s just going to beat you up all day,” Bland said shortly after his round. “And today was my day.” More

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      Phil Mickelson, at 50, Wins P.G.A. Championship

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      Mickelson became the oldest winner of a major golf tournament after a tense final round on the treacherous Ocean Course at Kiawah Island.KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — Weathering a riveting, roller-coaster test of nerve over five hours, Phil Mickelson, who will turn 51 next month, won the P.G.A. Championship on Sunday to become the oldest golfer to win a major championship. The record was previously held by Julius Boros, who was 48 when he won the 1968 P.G.A. Championship.Mickelson shot six under par for the tournament, finishing two strokes ahead of the runners-up, Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen.Mickelson becomes the latest in a growing group of sports stars who have defied traditional retirement ages for athletes and proved that championships can still be won in careers that last into middle age. Mickelson has followed the lead of Tom Brady, who won his seventh Super Bowl title three months ago at 43. Serena Williams has remained consistently in the hunt for elite titles at 39, an age that historically has seen tennis players recede to a senior circuit. Tiger Woods, although seriously injured in a car crash in February, won his fifth Masters tournament two years ago at 43.“I hope that this inspires some to just put in that little extra work, because there’s no reason why you can’t accomplish your goals at an older age,” Mickelson said after his round. “It just takes a little more work.”Mickelson has been among the most popular American golfers for three decades, and the final scene of his Sunday triumph made it obvious that his appeal had not waned.At the final hole, Mickelson rocketed his tee shot into the gallery left of the fairway, but he lofted a 9-iron from the rough to within 16 feet of the hole as the crowd roared its approval. He walked toward the green shaking his left fist above his shoulder. As he did, he was enveloped by hundreds of fans, who surged past security guards and the police to celebrate alongside him.Hugged, jostled and patted on the back, Mickelson needed several minutes to walk the final 50 yards to the 18th green. With spectators chanting his first name, he finally emerged to a green encircled by the crowd. Two putts sealed his victory.Mickelson later called the experience “slightly unnerving but exceptionally awesome,” and said he would “cherish it for my entire life.”Mickelson, surrounded by security, had to press through a throng of fans on the 18th fairway.Matt York/Associated PressMickelson’s achievement, his sixth major title, could prove to be a bookend to three decades in golf’s spotlight. A four-time college all-American, he won his first professional tournament while an amateur and was unable to cash its hefty check. After turning pro, he racked up victories on the PGA Tour, but soon became better known for his failure to win his first major championship.Mickelson has also had the misfortune of playing most of his career in the shadow of the superstar Woods, who won six major championships before he was 26. But Mickelson did not break through until he was 33, when he claimed the 2004 Masters during his 13th year on tour. Two other Masters championships followed, in 2006 and 2010, as well as a victory at the 2005 P.G.A. Championship, but there were also frequent, dispiriting setbacks, including six second-place finishes at the United States Open, American golf’s national championship. Before Sunday’s victory at the treacherous Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, Mickelson had not won a major since the 2013 British Open.Mickelson misses a putt on the par-5 No. 11 hole.Matt York/Associated PressMickelson, however, has remained a fan favorite, in part because of a daring style of play and because of his Everyman physique, which stands in stark contrast to the fit, muscular bodies of the modern golfer best typified by Woods. Known as Lefty because he swings at a golf ball left-handed — even though he is naturally right-handed — Mickelson has spent decades comfortably engaging with golf galleries, often using a smile and a thumbs-up, a gesture he learned from Arnold Palmer.Mickelson’s rush up the leaderboard at this P.G.A. Championship was not foreshadowed by his recent performances. Since missing the cut at last year’s U.S. Open, his best result on the PGA Tour had been a tie for 21st. He finished outside the top 50 nine times.Playing in dark sunglasses and with an air of calm, Mickelson began Sunday’s round with a one-stroke lead over Koepka, who finished the event in a tie for second place with Oosthuizen at four under par.But long before Mickelson’s triumphant outcome was certain, he was locked in a tense, topsy-turvy battle, first with Koepka and then in the closing holes with Oosthuizen.While Mickelson appeared to have a comfortable four-shot lead over the field with six holes to play, his second shot at the 13th hole hooked into a water hazard, which led to an unsettling bogey. On the par-3 14th hole, Mickelson came up short and right of the green. He chipped to eight feet, but missed the par putt for another bogey.Almost simultaneously, Oosthuizen made two steadying pars at the 14th and 15th holes to pull within three strokes of Mickelson, who was at six under par for the tournament. Mickelson made par at the 15th hole, but Oosthuizen birdied the par-5 16th hole — his eagle putt narrowly missed — to cut Mickelson’s lead to two strokes.Mickelson responded with a par on the 15th hole, then hit a towering 337-yard drive to the middle of the 16th fairway. His second shot bounced on the green but skipped off the back. A dicey chip nestled next to the hole for an easy birdie, and Mickelson headed to the hardest hole on the longest golf course in major championship history with a three-shot lead.Mickelson’s 6-iron from the 17th tee took a big bounce just to the left of the hole and trundled into knee-high grass behind the green 60 feet from the flagstick. After several minutes of deliberation, he wedged his ball safely on the putting surface, where he two-putted for a bogey that still kept him two strokes in the lead.Brooks Koepka hitting out of a bunker on No. 16 Sunday. He birdied the par-5 hole.Matt York/Associated PressHours earlier, in the middle of a sunny, humid day along the South Carolina coastline, Mickelson had taken a gut punch to his chances when Koepka wrested the lead from him on the opening hole. In a matter of minutes, a three-putt bogey by Mickelson and a Koepka birdie had reversed the names atop the leaderboard. But Koepka gave away the advantage with a double bogey on the second hole, even as Mickelson continued to struggle with his accuracy.His brother and caddie, Tim, pulled Phil Mickelson aside after the sixth hole and gave him a mild scolding.“Tim said, ‘If you’re going to win this thing, you’re going to have to make committed golf swings,’” Mickelson said, adding that he had been too passive. “It hit me in the head — I have to swing committed. The first one I made was the drive on 7.”Mickelson birded the seventh hole, which Koepka bogeyed. By the turn, Mickelson had pushed ahead by two strokes.When Mickelson’s final putt dropped into the cup on the 18th green, the brothers embraced for several seconds.Celebrating on the 18th green with his brother and caddie, Tim Mickelson.Jamie Squire/Getty Images More

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      Phil Mickelson Leads P.G.A. Championship After Third Round

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      Mickelson has a one-shot lead over Brooks Koepka entering the final round of the P.G.A. Championship, where he is bidding to become the oldest man to win a major.KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — Mindful of keeping his focus as he ages, Phil Mickelson has begun meditating in his spare time. In the third round of the P.G.A. Championship on Saturday, he clearly took his new diversion to the workplace, pausing for long contemplative moments, occasionally with eyes closed, as he prepared to execute a shot.For 11 holes on Saturday, the result was a commanding, five-shot lead.But Mickelson’s composed walk around the treacherous Ocean Course at Kiawah Island would turn into roughly an hour of chaos, when it seemed he was on the verge of playing his way out of the tournament.Mickelson found the inner peace — or relied on nearly 30 years of top performances — to right the ship in the nick of time, rallying with five closing pars to take a one-stroke lead over Brooks Koepka into Sunday’s final round. Koepka had briefly tied Mickelson atop the leaderboard but bogeyed the 18th hole as Mickelson was calmly closing out his day.Brooks Koepka stalked Mickelson on the back nine, pulling even late in the round.David J. Phillip/Associated PressIf Mickelson, who turns 51 next month, maintains that advantage in the final round, he will become the oldest golfer to win a major championship, taking the record from Julius Boros, who was 48 when he won the 1968 P.G.A. Championship. A win on Sunday would be Mickelson’s sixth major victory, something only 13 other men’s golfers have achieved.“Tomorrow, I just want to stay calm enough and focused enough and visualize each shot, and if I can do that I can have the performance I want,” Mickelson said after shooting a two-under-par 70 that left him seven-under par for the championship. “It’s a great opportunity.”Mickelson blamed a loss of concentration for his missteps on the 12th and 13th holes on Saturday, which cost him three strokes and nearly derailed his round.“I slipped on a couple shots, but I’ve seen a lot of progress mentally,” he said. “That’s all significantly better. You know, just to have a chance tomorrow is the goal.”Mickelson will be paired with Koepka on Sunday, while Louis Oosthuizen, who is alone in third at five under, and Kevin Streelman, at four under, will be the second-to-last group off the first tee.On Saturday, Mickelson repeatedly stood motionless and pensive behind his golf ball. When he finally set up for his next shot, he would often have a thin, relaxed smile on his face.For a little more than the first half of his round, the absorbed deliberation led to spectacular outcomes as Mickelson birdied five holes to take a five-stroke lead on the field with eight holes to play.Nothing in Mickelson’s recent performances would have foreshadowed such a successful assault this week on the devilish Ocean Course. Since missing the cut at last year’s United States Open, his best result has been a tie for 21st. He has finished outside the top 50 in other events nine times.Mickelson’s mini-collapse on Saturday, which included knocking a tee shot under a golf cart perched on a sand dune, began on the par-4 12th hole, where he hit his tee shot into a bunker and had to chip out sideways because of an awkward lie. After his next shot landed 26 feet from the hole, he had to settle for a two-putt bogey.That lapse, after a string of pars and birdies — and after subpar rounds of 70 and 69 in the first half of the tournament — appeared to unnerve Mickelson, despite his new relaxation techniques.On the 13th tee, after Mickelson’s playing partner Oosthuizen smacked his ball into a swampy water hazard right of the hole, Mickelson did the same. Worse for Mickelson, he deemed that his tee shot had traveled entirely over the hazard and therefore he had to re-tee with a penalty stroke. While his next shot bounced safely in the fairway, it counted as his third shot and led to a double-bogey six — the first six Mickelson had recorded on any hole at the event.Mickelson’s confidence and calm were tested by a stumble on the back nine.David J. Phillip/Associated PressMickelson rallied with two pars, which offered a return to normalcy that he had needed. But then he severely hooked his tee shot at the par-5 16th and watched helplessly as it bounded into the course’s thick native grasses. The ball came to rest beside the front tire of a golf cart parked atop a sandy mound.The cart was moved, and Mickelson punched out, and he then found the green with his third shot. His 12-foot birdie putt was struck too firmly, though, and while it hit the hole, it was traveling so fast that it hopped over the cup and lipped out.Minutes earlier, on the 16th green, Koepka had rolled in a birdie putt that pulled him into a tie for the lead at seven under. His stay alongside Mickelson in first was brief, however; Koepka missed a 6-foot par putt on the 18th hole as his rival parred in.“It felt like the worst putting performance I’ve ever had,” said Koepka, who has won four major championships, and two P.G.A. Championships, since 2017. “The only way to look at it is that it can’t get any worse.”While Koepka was on his way to a bogey at 18, Mickelson, on the par-3 17th hole, the most intimidating spot on the course, drilled an impressive iron from the tee to within 17 feet of the cup. He settled for par when his birdie putt trickled just left of the hole, but on the final hole of the day, despite missing the green to the left, he nearly chipped in from 65 feet. His 5-foot par rolled around the edge of the cup but dropped in for his final par.Mickelson opened Saturday’s round by slicing his first tee shot into rough so thick his caddie, and brother, Tim could not find the ball even when standing only eight feet away. Nearby fans pointed it out. When Phil Mickelson later arrived on the scene and gazed down at his ball, he chuckled.But after a long pause with his eyes closed as he visualized the shot to come, he successfully wedged the ball onto the green and made a steadying par. Mickelson then birdied the par-5 second hole as well as the par-4 third, where his tee shot came to rest 2 feet from the hole. He added birdies on the sixth hole, where he made a 16-foot putt, and the seventh, where he rolled in his ball from 5 feet.A precise wedge from 118 yards on the 10th hole left Mickelson a 6-foot putt. He was already walking to collect it before it disappeared into the hole moments later, to the delight of the roaring gallery. More

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      Phil Mickelson’s P.G.A. Numbers: 50 Years and One More Day

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      Mickelson has a one-shot lead over Brooks Koepka entering the final round of the P.G.A. Championship, where he is bidding to become the oldest man to win a major.KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — Mindful of keeping his focus as he ages, Phil Mickelson has begun meditating in his spare time. In the third round of the P.G.A. Championship on Saturday, he clearly took his new diversion to the workplace, pausing for long contemplative moments, occasionally with eyes closed, as he prepared to execute a shot.For 11 holes on Saturday, the result was a commanding, five-shot lead.But Mickelson’s composed walk around the treacherous Ocean Course at Kiawah Island would turn into roughly an hour of chaos, when it seemed he was on the verge of playing his way out of the tournament.Mickelson found the inner peace — or relied on nearly 30 years of top performances — to right the ship in the nick of time, rallying with five closing pars to take a one-stroke lead over Brooks Koepka into Sunday’s final round. Koepka had briefly tied Mickelson atop the leaderboard but bogeyed the 18th hole as Mickelson was calmly closing out his day.Brooks Koepka stalked Mickelson on the back nine, pulling even late in the round.David J. Phillip/Associated PressIf Mickelson, who turns 51 next month, maintains that advantage in the final round, he will become the oldest golfer to win a major championship, taking the record from Julius Boros, who was 48 when he won the 1968 P.G.A. Championship. A win on Sunday would be Mickelson’s sixth major victory, something only 13 other men’s golfers have achieved.“Tomorrow, I just want to stay calm enough and focused enough and visualize each shot, and if I can do that I can have the performance I want,” Mickelson said after shooting a two-under-par 70 that left him seven-under par for the championship. “It’s a great opportunity.”Mickelson blamed a loss of concentration for his missteps on the 12th and 13th holes on Saturday, which cost him three strokes and nearly derailed his round.“I slipped on a couple shots, but I’ve seen a lot of progress mentally,” he said. “That’s all significantly better. You know, just to have a chance tomorrow is the goal.”Mickelson will be paired with Koepka on Sunday, while Louis Oosthuizen, who is alone in third at five under, and Kevin Streelman, at four under, will be the second-to-last group off the first tee.On Saturday, Mickelson repeatedly stood motionless and pensive behind his golf ball. When he finally set up for his next shot, he would often have a thin, relaxed smile on his face.For a little more than the first half of his round, the absorbed deliberation led to spectacular outcomes as Mickelson birdied five holes to take a five-stroke lead on the field with eight holes to play.Nothing in Mickelson’s recent performances would have foreshadowed such a successful assault this week on the devilish Ocean Course. Since missing the cut at last year’s United States Open, his best result has been a tie for 21st. He has finished outside the top 50 in other events nine times.Mickelson’s mini-collapse on Saturday, which included knocking a tee shot under a golf cart perched on a sand dune, began on the par-4 12th hole, where he hit his tee shot into a bunker and had to chip out sideways because of an awkward lie. After his next shot landed 26 feet from the hole, he had to settle for a two-putt bogey.That lapse, after a string of pars and birdies — and after subpar rounds of 70 and 69 in the first half of the tournament — appeared to unnerve Mickelson, despite his new relaxation techniques.On the 13th tee, after Mickelson’s playing partner Oosthuizen smacked his ball into a swampy water hazard right of the hole, Mickelson did the same. Worse for Mickelson, he deemed that his tee shot had traveled entirely over the hazard and therefore he had to re-tee with a penalty stroke. While his next shot bounced safely in the fairway, it counted as his third shot and led to a double-bogey six — the first six Mickelson had recorded on any hole at the event.Mickelson’s confidence and calm were tested by a stumble on the back nine.David J. Phillip/Associated PressMickelson rallied with two pars, which offered a return to normalcy that he had needed. But then he severely hooked his tee shot at the par-5 16th and watched helplessly as it bounded into the course’s thick native grasses. The ball came to rest beside the front tire of a golf cart parked atop a sandy mound.The cart was moved, and Mickelson punched out, and he then found the green with his third shot. His 12-foot birdie putt was struck too firmly, though, and while it hit the hole, it was traveling so fast that it hopped over the cup and lipped out.Minutes earlier, on the 16th green, Koepka had rolled in a birdie putt that pulled him into a tie for the lead at seven under. His stay alongside Mickelson in first was brief, however; Koepka missed a 6-foot par putt on the 18th hole as his rival parred in.“It felt like the worst putting performance I’ve ever had,” said Koepka, who has won four major championships, and two P.G.A. Championships, since 2017. “The only way to look at it is that it can’t get any worse.”While Koepka was on his way to a bogey at 18, Mickelson, on the par-3 17th hole, the most intimidating spot on the course, drilled an impressive iron from the tee to within 17 feet of the cup. He settled for par when his birdie putt trickled just left of the hole, but on the final hole of the day, despite missing the green to the left, he nearly chipped in from 65 feet. His 5-foot par rolled around the edge of the cup but dropped in for his final par.Mickelson opened Saturday’s round by slicing his first tee shot into rough so thick his caddie, and brother, Tim could not find the ball even when standing only eight feet away. Nearby fans pointed it out. When Phil Mickelson later arrived on the scene and gazed down at his ball, he chuckled.But after a long pause with his eyes closed as he visualized the shot to come, he successfully wedged the ball onto the green and made a steadying par. Mickelson then birdied the par-5 second hole as well as the par-4 third, where his tee shot came to rest 2 feet from the hole. He added birdies on the sixth hole, where he made a 16-foot putt, and the seventh, where he rolled in his ball from 5 feet.A precise wedge from 118 yards on the 10th hole left Mickelson a 6-foot putt. He was already walking to collect it before it disappeared into the hole moments later, to the delight of the roaring gallery. More