Phil Mickelson in a league of his own at Pebble Beach Pro

But heading into Sunday’s final round, only No. 3 Jason Day has a top 10 spot on the leader board, and his chance of victory is probably a long shot.

That won’t be the case for Phil Mickelson on Sunday.

Mickelson is sitting out Riviera this week because of his kids’ spring break.

“I didn’t get it done, and it was driving me insane”, Taylor said. “I lost a good bit of my game”.

Not for the first time this week Ruffels was wildly inconsistent, mixing six bogeys with four birdies in the round and had his third penalty drop in as many rounds, this time on the par-four 17th. He didn’t know he had taken the lead, he said. “I love that pressure, and it’s been a while since I felt that”.

What motivates him is a swing that has him confident over the ball again and a putting stroke that didn’t miss anything inside of 7 feet until the 72nd hole of the week.

Mickelson made use of the holes he had remaining to get within striking distance.

But he missed and shot 72. She almost left the grounds, but when her husband canned a 29-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole for his fourth straight birdie, something told her she should stick around.

Right when it looked as though he had shot himself out of it, he made a 10-foot par save with as tough an uphill putt as there is at Pebble Beach on the 16th hole.

“Tomorrow I’m just going to try and have fun, enjoy Pebble”, he said. “They provide birdie opportunities, and I think some guys are going to get off to a hot start and it’s important for me to just be patient, not try to force the issue”. I’ve worked so hard and just kept getting knocked down and knocked down.

The world No 447, who does not even have a full PGA Tour card, trailed Phil Mickelson by six shots going into the final round.

Taylor’s 65 here sealed several fates for him.

The year before that, his best chance was the PGA Championship at Valhalla, where he was tied for the lead on the back nine until Rory McIlroy pulled ahead and Mickelson’s last chance was to chip in for eagle (he nearly did).

For a player – like so many of his elite-level brethren – who focuses on seeing his game peak four times per year, he realizes this result could very well lead to improved performances at those majors. I didn’t even have my tour card and got in this week on past champion status, and now I’m playing in the Masters pretty soon. “I mean, are you kidding?” He’s been the runner-up three times since on tour. That’s 11 years, if you’re scoring at home. He nearly drowned in a boating accident while fishing in August 2014.

“It was a life changer”, Taylor said. Never believing he was done, he kept fighting.

“I changed up little things from the previous couple of days”, Reed said. “The best players don’t play good every week”. “Just wanted a place to play next week”.

Padraig Harrington finished just outside the top-20.

It really was a dream for Taylor this week at Pebble Beach. Playing from the 10th tee, he was two over after four holes, following bogeys on the 12th and 13th.