Cal Golf: Collin Morikawa Slides to a Tie for 26th Place in Defense of his PGA Crown

Phil Mickelson is defying Father Time so far at the PGA Championship, where former Cal star Collin Morikawa had a challenging Friday but survived to compete on the weekend.

Mickelson, a month shy of 51 years old, shares the second-round lead with Louis Oosthuizen, each at five under par. In windy conditions on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, South Carolina, Mickelson will attempt to become the oldest major champion by nearly three years.

Morikawa, 24, was tied for seventh place after Thursday’s first round, when he fired a two-under 70. He labored through Friday to score a 75 and sits in a seven-way tie for 26th place, at one-over par and six strokes off the pace.

The tournament’s defending champion, Morikawa had two birdies but five bogeys on Friday, including on each of the final two holes.

Another former Cal golfer, Byeong Hun-An, also shot a 75 and is among 13 golfers tied for 50th place at four over par, good enough to make the cut. Jordan Spieth is among those in that crowd. Hun-An, 29, had three birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey in his Friday round.

Things didn’t go as well for two other Cal products who missed the cut, as golfers whose two-round total was worse than five over par will not be playing on Saturday.

— Max Homa, 30, who was at two-under par through 12 holes on Thursday, continued his unraveling since then. He finished the first round with a 78 after a quadruple-bogey, and on Friday he had five bogeys on the back nine and finished with a second-round 76 and a tie for 118th place at 10 over.

— Brandon Hagy, also 30, tied for 134th at 13 over after shooting an 80 that included six bogeys and a double-bogey.

Mickelson still had 36 holes to play, but he could become the oldest major champ since Juilus Boros won the 1968 PGA at the age of 48. Already, Mickelson is the oldest halfway leader at the PGA since Sam Snead did it at the age of 54 in 1966.

Mickelson doesn’t have recent history on his side. He is without a top-10 finish in nine months and he hasn’t finished among the top-10 at a major in nearly five years.

“If you were to tell me that Sunday night, I’d really enjoy that, but right now there’s a lot of work to do,” said Mickelson, who carded a 69 on Friday. “The fact is, I’m heading into the weekend with an opportunity, I’m playing really well, and I’m having a lot of fun doing it.”

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” said Padraig Harrington, a rival for the past three decades, who was grouped with Mickelson for the first two days at Kiawah. “I think he has the bit between his teeth. I think he believes he can do it in these conditions.”

Brooks Koepka is one stroke back of the co-leaders after shooting a 71 in the second round. First-round leader Corey Conners shot a 75 that included seven bogeys on his first 13 holes and is tied for seventh place at two under.

Pre-tournament favorite Rory McIlroy is tied for 39th place at three-over par after an even-par 72.

It could be worse.

Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele — all ranked the top-5 in the world — failed to make the cut.

And one-time star John Daly finished last with a two-day score of 27 over par after posting an 86 on Friday that was littered by nine bogeys, a double-bogey and a triple-bogey.

Cover photo of Collin Morikawa by Geoff Burke, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo