Phil Mickelson in the hunt and loving every minute of it

AUGUSTA, Ga. — When asked by The Post what playing in his 100th round in the Masters on Friday meant to him, Phil Mickelson went for the obvious joke: “Just that I’m getting old,” he said, drawing a few chuckles.

Mickelson might be 48, but his age isn’t keeping him from being among the contenders heading into the weekend of the 83rd Masters at Augusta National. Take that, Jake Owen.

There will be a time when Mickelson becomes a ceremonial golfer, here to wave at the patrons and rekindle memories of his past prime the way Gary Player, Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus do these days. But Mickelson is far from that right now. He clearly has enough game to contend with today’s best players and give credence to his chances of claiming another green jacket.

“I think I’ve got another major in me,” Mickelson said. “At least one, maybe two. I’d love to get one right here. But you can’t jump ahead to the end. There’s a lot of good fun, challenging golf in between.”

Mickelson, who counts three Masters among his five major championships, shot a 1-over 73 on Friday to stand at 4-under after 36 holes. He was three strokes behind a group of leaders at 7-under.

“I expected to be a little bit better, to be honest,” Mickelson said. “But there’s nothing better than having a chance going into the weekend of the Masters. That’s what I want to focus on. I know I’m playing well enough to go shoot some low numbers. If I can shoot a good one tomorrow, I’ll be in it for Sunday.”

With all the attention on Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, it’s easy to overlook Mickelson. The most attention he received this week was when he confirmed an expletive-filled blowup with Owen, a country singer, while attending Jordan Spieth’s wedding last year. Owen evidently wanted a refund after paying to watch the pay-per-view match between Mickelson and Woods last summer, calling it “s–tty golf.” Mickelson not so politely told Owen to take a hike.

“It happened exactly like he said,” Mickelson confirmed.

Not surprising. Mickelson still carries plenty of bravado, even though he’s two years away from being eligible for the Champions Tour. A victory at the AT&T at Pebble Beach earlier this year reaffirmed his ability to still compete and win, though missed cuts as the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship might suggest his game is slipping.

After shooting a 5-under 67 on Thursday, Mickelson struggled with an inconsistent driver Friday.

“Usually, the harder I swing the straighter it will go,” Mickelson said. “Today that wasn’t so much the case. I hit some good drives. But the ones that I missed were on critical holes, birdie holes. I hit into the rough on 8 and made bogey on a hole where I should be making a birdie and hit the trees at 15 [a par 5] and made par. I let a few shots go. But I’m playing well. If I drive it well, I’m going to have a good weekend.”

There’s no doubt Mickelson craves a fourth green jacket, which would tie him not only with Woods, immensely satisfying, but also with Arnold Palmer, whom Mickelson has parroted in dealing with fans and media. Palmer played in 50 Masters. Mickelson is playing in his 27th.

“There’s been so many more practice rounds that I played here in addition to those 100 rounds,” Mickelson said, “and every time I come here I just get so excited to be here and to play. It brings back memories to when I was a kid and it makes me feel young.”

Young enough to win.

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