A rejuvenated Phil Mickelson tied a career best on Saturday when he posted 10 birdies in the third round of the BMW Championship.
Employing a claw grip he began toying with two weeks ago at The Barclays, Mickelson went on a birdie binge that included a run of four in a row as well as a 16-footer on the 18th that elicited a double fist pump from the southpaw. The final putt from the fringe earned him an 8-under 64.
At 16-under for the week, Mickelson will head into Sunday’s finale tied for the lead with Vijay Singh, who ended an up-and-down round of 69 with a bogey on the 18th.
Mickelson, whose game had been MIA since he tied for third at the Masters in April, looked forward to Sunday’s finale.
“Tomorrow’s going to be a shootout,” he told Golf Channel after a round in which he canned 10 birdies for the seventh time in his career. “I just like the fact that I’m in the mix, that I have a chance.”
Saturday’s round was the seventh in succession in which Mickelson posted a score in the 60s. He carded four such numbers at last week’s Deutsche Bank Championship, where he finished in a tie for fourth — his best result since Augusta.
Mickelson also posted a 64 for the first time since the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in February — an event he won for his 40th PGA Tour victory.
