Phil Mickelson at PGA Championship 2016: Sunday Leaderboard Score and Reaction
Phil Mickelson closed out his 2016 PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club on Sunday with a fourth-round score of two-under 68, which put him in a tie for 27th place when he entered the clubhouse at three under for the tournament.
Lefty was eight shots behind leader Jimmy Walker when his round reached its conclusion. While he was never a threat, here is a look at the top of the leaderboard:
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Mickelson's fourth round could best be described as solid and unspectacular, as he carded 14 pars. Here is a full rundown of his scorecard, which featured little in the way of birdies and bogeys:
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 34 |
| Round 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 34 |
| Overall | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 36 |
| Round 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 34 |
| Overall | -2 | -2 | -2 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -2 | -3 | -3 |
The rainy conditions led to several players being forced to finish their third rounds Sunday before also embarking on fourth-round play, although Mickelson was among those who were able to get a full round in Saturday.
Rain still played a role, as it came down early in his round, but it didn't appear to dampen the five-time major champion's spirits, as seen in this photo courtesy of PGA.com:
The good vibes continued and the smile grew bigger even as the rain intensified, with the 46-year-old veteran managing to avoid potential disaster early in the round, per the following snapshot from KPMG:
The front nine was clean and nondescript for Mickelson, as he parred every hole and made the turn with his one-under overall score still intact.
He finally broke through with his first birdie of the day on the par-four 10th, sinking a long putt to put a circle on the scorecard.
Lefty then proceeded to par each of the next two holes, which prompted ESPN's Jason Sobel to joke about his often-volatile game being so lucid:
The first sign of trouble came on No. 13. He posted a bogey, but it would prove to be the only blemish in an otherwise excellent round.
Following pars on the 14th, 15th and 16th holes, Mickelson finally had an opportunity to do some damage on No. 17 and No. 18, which are Baltusrol's only par fives.
He did precisely that on the 17th after an excellent drive and two strong approach shots put him in ideal position for a birdie, and he took advantage of it.
Mickelson then sank his third birdie putt of the day on No. 18, which led to a great reception from the gallery, according to Golf Digest:
While he didn't make a ton of mistakes throughout the tournament and played well overall, he simply couldn't go on the birdie binges he needed to in order to keep pace with the leaders.
It was a somewhat disappointing result for Mickelson after falling short in his duel with Henrik Stenson in The Open Championship at Royal Troon, but Lefty still acquitted himself well.
Mickelson missed the cut at both the Masters and the U.S. Open, so his showings in the past two majors are encouraging in terms of closing the season strong and once again being in contention for major titles in 2017.
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