Phil Mickelson at PGA Championship 2016: Saturday Leaderboard Score and Reaction

Phil Mickelson couldn't find the moving-day magic he needed Saturday, as he posted a two-under 68 in Round 3 of the 2016 PGA Championship. It left him eight strokes off the pace at one under, with the leaders still to play Saturday afternoon at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey.

Mickelson enjoyed some promising moments throughout the day, including two birdies in a four-hole stretch on the front nine. That said, Lefty likely needed a score in the lower 60s to give himself a realistic chance for Sunday. He didn't create enough birdie opportunities to make that happen.

Let's check out the hole-by-hole results for Mickelson's third round:

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	OUT
Hole	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	IN
Par	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	4	3	34
Score	5	4	3	3	4	3	4	4	3	33
Total	+2	+2	+1	+1	+1	E	E	E	E	-
Par	4	4	3	4	4	4	3	5	5	36
Score	4	5	2	4	4	4	3	5	4	35
Total	E	+1	E	E	E	E	E	E	-1	-

And here's an updated look at the leaderboard for the season's final major:

Mickelson admitted after the second round he was struggling with managing expectations after his terrific second-place showing in The Open Championship earlier in the month, as Barry Wilner of the Associated Press noted. Lefty wanted to change his mindset heading into Day 3.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to try to go out and not worry about the score and just play a good round because I've been hitting a lot of good shots," he said Friday. "I'm trying to force the issue because I know you've got to get hot out here."

Alas, any hopeful vibes were immediately erased on the first hole for the second straight day. While Saturday's effort wasn't quite as crushing as Friday's triple-bogey seven, he still posted a bogey on No. 1 to push him even further down the leaderboard.

The 46-year-old former PGA Championship winner—that victory came on this course in 2005—rebounded nicely over the rest of the front nine. He carded birdies on the third and sixth with a pair of delicate, twisting putts on the tricky greens.

PGA.com shared highlights from his one-under front half:

It was more of the same on the back nine. Mickelson dropped a shot with a bogey on the 11th but got it right back with a birdie on the next hole. Then he jumped on the par train for a while.

While most of the pars were of the routine variety, it wouldn't be a Lefty round without at least one trip into the wrong fairway, the street or, in this case, the hospitality area at No. 17.

The PGA Tour spotlighted his recovery effort to help save par:

He finished the day with a birdie on the par-five 18th. A few more of those throughout the round and his outlook for Round 4 would have been a lot brighter.

Ultimately, Mickelson didn't do nearly enough to get himself back in championship contention unless the course conditions get so tough during the afternoon that the leaders all fade back toward the pack, setting the stage for a wild Sunday. That's a long shot, though.

The five-time major champion hasn't played poorly this week, but a series of small mistakes and the mess he made on No. 1 Friday prevented him from keeping pace. So the focus Sunday will be finishing with his best round of the event to lay the groundwork for a strong finish to 2016.   

Post-Round Reaction

PGA.com passed along comments from Mickelson, who believes the course is capable of yielding a truly special round, after he finished up:

On a personal level, he talked about enjoying his trips to Baltusrol Golf Club, even though things haven't gone according to plan this week, as relayed by Turner Sports PR.

"It is an unreal experience and I just love coming and playing here," Mickelson said.