Mickelson Takes Lead Into Fifth Day As Rain Halts Play

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The New York Sun

SPRINGFIELD, N.J.- Phil Mickelson soared and then stumbled, and somehow finished ahead of everyone else yesterday in the PGA Championship. But thanks to a band of storms that rolled into Baltusrol, his work is not done.


In a dynamic final round that included everything but a winner, Mickelson went from three shots ahead to two shots behind Steve Elkington in a span of seven holes, only to recover when others got swallowed up by deep rough and the pressure of trying to win the final major of the year.


Mickelson was 4-under par and had a 3-foot par putt on the 14th hole when the final round was called for the rest of the day. Twelve players will return at 10 a.m. today, the first time the PGA Championship has gone five days since Bob Tway won at Inverness in 1986.


No one could have imagined Mickelson would struggle after the way he started. And despite a 39-minute delay just before the leaders teed off, no one could have guessed that Tiger Woods would have the best 72-hole score at the end of the day.


After bogeying two of the first three holes to seemingly lose any chance, Woods finished with birdies on the last two holes for a 2-under 68, putting him at 2-under 278, two shots out.


But the final two holes are par 5s, making it unlikely that Mickelson, Elkington, and Thomas Bjorn at 3-under, or Vijay Singh and Davis Love III at 2-under, all will drop shots down the stretch.


“I’m starting to hit some good shots, and we’ve got some birdie holes coming in,” Mickelson said.


Half of the 12 players who did not finish the final round still have a chance to win.


Mickelson had a three-shot lead when he rolled in an 8-foot birdie putt on the fourth hole, but he couldn’t run away from the field this time. Lefty lost the lead by making four bogeys in a five-hole stretch, either hitting into the rough or into the bunkers, and losing his touch on the greens.


Elkington, on the 10-year anniversary of his PGA Championship victory, made all pars through the first seven holes and took the lead by chipping in behind the 11th green. But he looked tentative missing 8-foot par putts on the 13th and 15th holes to fall to 3-under.


Bjorn got back into the mix with a 40-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole, and he was one shot behind with four to play.


Despite a frustrating day that saw six birdie putts slide by the hole, Singh left the course two shots behind with three holes to go.


Somehow, Love, too, was still part of the equation. He also dropped four shots in five holes early in his round, and to his surprise Mickelson and Elkington came back to him. He will have four holes to change his fortunes.


“This is a tremendous advantage, I think,” Mickelson said. “We get a few extra holes to play, and hopefully calm weather after hopefully some rain will maybe soften it up a bit.”


The New York Sun

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