He might be 10 shots off the lead at the halfway mark of the PGA Championship, but that hasn’t stopped Phil Mickelson reaching another incredible golfing milestone in his Hall of Fame career.
The left-hander admitted he “played terrible” over the first two days at Oak Hill Country Club but still did enough to scrape through the cut on the number (+5) and in doing so, created another slice of history.
Already a six-time winner and the oldest player to land one of golf’s marquee events, the 52-year-old has now made 100 cuts at Major championships, amazingly from just 119 starts. That places him third on the all-time list behind Jack Nicklaus (131) and Gary Player (102), while Tiger Woods has made the weekend 77 times in Majors from 91 starts.
In addition to that feat, Mickelson also tied the record for the most cuts made in PGA Championship history, joining Nicklaus and Raymond Floyd on 27. It’s another reminder of Mickelson’s unbelievable longevity, work ethic and self-belief to continue to mix it with the best of the best across several generations.
For reference, Mickelson first made the cut in a Major at the 1990 US Open as an amateur, before Scottier Scheffler, Viktor Hovland and Corey Conners – the three men who lead the PGA Championship after 36 holes – were even born.
Mickelson can, however, count himself fortunate to still be around for the weekend in Rochester, New York, after he narrowly avoided a penalty for a bad drop on Friday thanks to an alert rules official. “He came and saved me a stroke, so I was very appreciative,” Mickelson said after the round.
As for the final 36 holes, despite being 10 back, the 52-year-old is looking forward.
“The first two days I’ve played terrible” he added. “I’ve driven it poorly. I’ve not felt good with the putter. I haven’t chipped great. My irons have been average. It makes me optimistic that I still made the cut playing as poorly as I did, and I think if I can get it turned around, I can make a run.”
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Golf Monthly RSS Feed…