Bidding to become the oldest winner in major history, Phil Mickelson will take a slender lead into the final day of the 103rd US PGA Championship after an extraordinary third round at Kiawah Island.
Eight years after claiming his fifth major title in the 2013 Open and 16 years on from winning the US PGA title at Baltusrol, Mickelson produced some vintage golf to surge into a five-shot lead, only to see it wiped out six holes later.
But with two-time winner Brooks Koepka suffering an uncharacteristically nervous finish, Mickelson again found himself in the outright lead after a 70 which veered from the sublime to the ridiculous and back again.
At seven under par Mickelson ended a breathless day a shot ahead of Koepka, who is chasing a third US PGA title in four years just nine weeks after undergoing surgery to deal with a knee cap dislocation and ligament damage.
Former Open champion Louis Oosthuizen lies two shots off the lead after a 72, with American Kevin Streelman another stroke back following a round of 70.
Mickelson and Oosthuizen began the day in a tie for the lead but that state of affairs did not last long, Oosthuizen three-putting the first before Mickelson clicked into top gear in brilliant fashion.
Aiming to surpass Julius Boros – who was 48 when he won the US PGA in 1968 – as the oldest major winner, Mickelson fired a long iron from 267 yards onto the green on the par-five second and two-putted from 15 feet for birdie.
As Mickelson had threatened to match Rory McIlroy's runaway victory at Kiawah in 2012, McIlroy's day was already over following a disappointing third round of 74 to finish five over par.
Asked what he needs to improve, the pre-tournament favourite said: "It's being a little tidier around the greens, it's hitting a few more fairways.
"It's taking some of your chances when you do hit good iron shots, instead of making the pars, you make the birdies. Just getting some momentum. I just feel like I haven't had any momentum this week.
"When you start the way I did today with a bogey and then you don't make a birdie on the second hole, you're just always trying to play catch up, and it's hard to on this golf course because there's very few opportunities where you can be really aggressive."
