Phil Mickelson jogs off the 18th green after the third round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Merion Golf Club, Saturday, June 15, 2013, in Ardmore, Pa.ARDMORE, Pa. – Phil Mickelson began his week with a flight back and forth across the country. Even longer might be the 18 holes that now stand between him and that U.S. Open title he has been chasing his entire career.
And he’s never had a better opportunity than this one.
Despite a bogey on the final hole of a taxing Saturday afternoon, Mickelson was the sole survivor to par at Merion with an even-par 70 that gave him a one-shot lead over Hunter Mahan, Charl Schwartzel and Steve Stricker going into the last round.
It’s the first time Mickelson has held the outright lead through 54 holes in the U.S. Open, and the timing could be right.
Mickelson celebrates his 43rd birthday today — on Father’s Day, no less. He left Merion on Monday and didn’t return until three hours before his tee time Thursday so he could attend the eighth-grade graduation of his oldest daughter.