After 36 holes of the Charles Schwab Series, Phil Mickelson is in prime position to win his debut on the PGA Tour Champions.
But a cigar-chomping veteran from Greensburg isn’t far behind on the leaderboard and is out to spoil Lefty’s fun at the rare, early-week tournament.
Rocco Mediate followed an opening 7-under-par 64 with a 66 on Tuesday to get within five strokes of Mickelson, who is having himself quite the rookie start. He has scorched Ozarks National Golf Course in Hollister, Mo., with rounds of 61 and 64 to take the top spot at 17-under with one round to play.
Rod Pampling and Tim Petrovic are tied for second at minus-13.
Looking trim since losing 30 pounds on a VersaClimbing training regimen and strict diet, and rolling the ball well with a more traditional setup and putter, Mediate sits at 12-under.
He opened his second round with three consecutive birdies, then made three more to go out in 6-under 30. He carded a pair of bogeys on the back nine before a birdie on 17.
When he made the turn, Mediate was only one behind Mickelson, who has 19 birdies in 36 holes and gained separation on the back nine.
Mediate, 57, has four wins on the 50-and-older Champions Tour, the last coming in 2019 at the Sanford International in South Dakota. He won the Senior PGA Championship in 2016.
.@RoccoMediate (-13) having himself a day!
He sits one back of @PhilMickelson. pic.twitter.com/FrgZniaXtP
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) August 25, 2020
? ? ? start for @RoccoMediate (-10).
He’s one back of new leader David McKenzie. pic.twitter.com/bBkh3RJgWY
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) August 25, 2020
