While one historic surge is sitting atop the leaderboard, a smaller one is bringing a legendary golfer into focus on the Top 10 at the 2011 U.S. Open. With five birdies thus far on Day Two, Mickelson has climbed to -1 overall and -4 on the day through 16 and currently sits at No. 8 on the overall leaderboard. He experienced an unfortunate bogey, hitting a bunker on hole 11, but ended up birdying two of the next five holes.
After a rough start in 2011 among the majors, finishing 27th overall at this year’s Masters, Mickelson could use a solid top ten standing and looks like a major contender heading into the final 36 holes. Last year, Mickelson finished No. 4 at the 2010 U.S. Open and has finished in second place an astounding four times, so he’s no stranger to success at the U.S. Open. Still that elusive win would be a nice finish, although it would take both success on Mickelson’s part and another meltdown on the part of overall leader Rory McIlroy.
If anything, Mickelson finishes well in the first half to position for a nice run toward the top in the second half. There are still a couple holes left for Mickelson, so we will keep you updated here if anything significantly changes.