HAVEN, Wis. — Phil Mickelson has never depended on the kindness of Team USA captains, and he does not intend to start now. That is why his six-under 66 in the P.G.A. Championship on Saturday mattered. Mickelson’s first subpar round of the week not only catapulted him up the leaderboard into a tie for 24th from 61st, but also gave him hope that the payoff for all his hard work would come in time for him to make the United States team for the Presidents Cup in South Korea in October.
Mickelson is 36th in the United States rankings with two starts remaining, the Barclays and the Deutsche Bank Championship.