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PGA Championship: Collin Morikawa Fades; Phil Mickelson Leads by 1

Ex-Cal golfer Collin Morikawa 10 strokes off the lead held by Phil Mickelson, who heads into Sunday looking to become oldest player in history to win a major
Jake Curtis|
PGA Championship: Collin Morikawa Fades; Phil Mickelson Leads by 1
PGA Championship: Collin Morikawa Fades; Phil Mickelson Leads by 1

Former Cal standout Collin Morikawa played his way out of the PGA Championship story, which now focuses on Phil Mickelson, who is bidding to become the oldest golfer in history to win a major title.

Morikawa started out strong on Saturday, but he did not finish with the score he needed to be in position to win the PGA Championship for the second year in a row.

He recorded a third-round score of 2-over-par 74 on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, South Carolina.  It left Morikawa at 3 over par for the tournament and 10 strokes off the lead held by Mickelson, who is challenging history.

Mickelson, who is one month shy of his 51st birthday, led by as many as five strokes midway through Saturday's round, but he ended the day with a one-shot lead over Brooks Koepka, whose bogey on the final hole prevented him from starting Sunday's round tied with Mickelson.

Mickelson is at 7 under par for the tournament after shooting a 2-under 70 in the third round.

Julius Boros currently holds the record as the oldest golfer to win a major title, having won the 1968 PGA Championship at the age of 48 years, 4 months, 18 days.

"I just know I'm having a lot of fun," Mickelson said afterward in the video below.

Mickelson seemed to have things in hand when he was 5-under for the day after 10 holes, putting him at 10-under for the tournament and giving him a five-shot lead over the field.

However, Mickelson had a bogey on No. 12 and a double-bogey on No. 13 when he hit his tee shot into the water. That allowed the field to close in, and Koepka shared the lead with Mickelson at 7-under heading into the final hole.  Koepka missed a short par putt on the 18th green to fall one shot behind Mickelson heading into Sunday's final round.

Morikawa was 1 over par and six strokes off the lead entering the third round, and he was 1-under on Saturday's round after four holes to move him to even par for the tournament.

However, he bogeyed the eighth, 10th, 14th and 15th holes before ending the skid with a birdie on No. 16. He was 12 shots off the lead when he finished his round, and that deficit might increase by the time all the golfers finish the third round.

Morikawa looked good while warming up, as seen here:

 Pre-tournament favorite Rory McIlroy struggled again on Saturday, shooting a 2-over-par 74 in the third round, leaving him at 5-over for the tournament. 

The 32-year-old McIlroy missed the cut at the Masters earlier this year, but he had played well since then and this week was the betting favorite to capture his first major title in nearly seven years.

However, McIlroy started the day with a bogey on the first hole and never completely recovered. He finished with four bogeys and two birdies. 

Byeong-Hun An, the other former Cal golfer who made the cut, played himself out of contention on the front nine Saturday. An started the day at 4 over par, nine strokes off the lead, but he shot a 5-over-par 77 in the third round, leaving him at 9-over for the tournament.

An finished his Saturday round with three birdies on the back nine, but the damage was done earlier. He played the first nine holes in 8 over par. He bogeyed four of the first five holes, then had double bogeys on the seventh and ninth holes.

The fact that he steadied himself to shoot 3-under on the back nine speaks to his toughness, although he still left him tied for 75th place.

The two other ex-Cal golfers who played in the event -- Max Homa and Brandon Hagy -- failed to make the cut.

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Cover photo of Collin Morikawa by Geoff Burke, USA TODAY Sports

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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