Five-time Major winning Phil Mickelson was four months shy of his 28th birthday when he won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for the first time. He’s 45 and going for his fifth title in his 20th start on the Monterey Peninsula on Sunday.

A pretty good winning percentage, to say the least. And with a victory in what is one of his favorite events, Mickelson would tie Mark O’Meara for the most all-time.

“It’s such a spiritual place if you love golf the way we all do,” Mickelson said.

His ‘Spiritual’ home – Phil Mickelson one round away from winning a fifth title at Pebble Beach. (Photo – USA Today)

In the 49 starts since his 42nd and last PGA Tour victory at the 2013 Open Championship, though, Mickelson has only posted six top-10s. So he’s hardly getting ahead of himself — even after shooting a bogey-free 66 that left Mickelson 16 under and with a two-stroke lead.

“I’ve got a little bit of work to get my ball-striking back to that level that I need to be for tomorrow’s round,” said Mickelson, who hasn’t held a 54-hole lead since that last win at Muirfield.

Toward that end, Mickelson planned to have Andrew Getson, the swing coach he switched to during the offseason, come to Pebble Beach Saturday night so they can work out the kinks.

“I really want tomorrow to be a good day,” Mickelson said.

The big left-hander actually has flirted with contention twice in his three starts of 2016. Mickelson shared third in his season’s debut at the Career Builder Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation, starting the final round six strokes behind the eventual champ, Jason Dufner, and tied for 11th last week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

“It’s fun to just have a chance going into Sunday,” Mickelson said. “It’s great that I’m leading but it’s fun to be back in the thick of it, to have a chance like I did at Phoenix or the Hope. …

“So to head into tomorrow’s round at Pebble Beach with an opportunity is what I’ve been waiting for.”

• Thanks to www.pgatour.com