Can Mickelson trigger the 'Phil phactor'?

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Would a couple of quick birdies from Phil Mickelson get the leaders thinking Sunday afternoon?

We're about to find out.

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Phil Mickelson is perfectly primed to make a Tiger-esque run at the title ... the title that's still rightfully his for one more day.

Yes, we're talking what we normally call the Tiger factor here. That back-of-your-mind, here-he-comes, what's-next, omigosh shudder that creeps into the psyches of the leaders when you-know-who pops out of nowhere. Only this time its not you-know-who; it's look-who's here.

On a day when he could have thrown out a 67, Mickleson settled for a 71. On a day when he could have put himself so much closer to becoming the first player to successfully defend a PLAYERS title, he settled in five shots behind surprise third-round leader Paul Goydos.

And on a day when tough pin placements, wind and momentary lapses sent a lot of people backward, Mickelson stood up and reminded us all he is indeed the No. 2 player in the world. Not to mention fan favorite.

So does he think a few more birdies to start the final round will trigger the Phil phactor?

"I don't know if that's the case, but I hope it is,'' Mickelson said after a round of television interviews. "I hope I can get off to a good start tomorrow with a couple of birdies. I'm not in a position where they're going to be thinking about me yet.

"You know, I've got to play well for the first 12, 13 holes probably before I can make enough birdies to have them take notice. But at least I'm somewhat there.''

Somewhere? Can you say understatement?

Yes, he's five shots back with 18 holes to play, but that's nothing here at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. It's, well, a two-hole swing. A high bounce into the water. A shot someone flat-out snap hooks or blocks dead right. A field goal that dies in the cup. A chip that rattles the flagstick and disappears from the fairway.

Mickelson has flirted with the 60s all week long and settled for 70-73-71 and is tied for fourth with Jeff Quinney. He knows he needs sixtysomething Sunday. He also needs the antibiotics he started taking this morning to knock whatever hit him walking to the 13th green Friday -- sore throat, aches -- back another notch. He's taking antibiotics and, to conserve energy, didn't warm up Saturday.

"Today it could have very easily been 67, 68, and I let it slide to 71,'' Mickelson said. "Tomorrow I need to shoot something in the mid to high 60s to have a chance. I'm playing well enough to do it; I just have to do it.''

That and avoid shots like his tee shot at the 14th hole, which went dead left into the water. He struggled the rest of the way, settling for a double-bogey 6.

"I was trying to hit a low driver like I did on 11, like I did yesterday on 14, and just blocked it,'' Mickelson said. "I mean, it was just a terrible shot.''

Awful, in fact. He recovered a bit with a birdie at 16, but he hit it into the rough at the 18th, had to pitch out and closed out the day with a bogey. At the time, no one had birdied the 454-yard hole. At the end of the day, only Fred Couples had a 3 there.

"The thing is almost a par 5, even though it's short,'' Mickelson said. "It's more difficult than 16, and 16 is an actual par 5. So it doesn't surprise me. It would be like eagling the hole. Especially that pin, it's very difficult to get there.''

Mickelson putted the first two days with a Little-Ben-ish style putter, but switched to his old mallet putter Saturday.

"I went to basically the putter I won with last year,'' he said. "I didn't putt the way I wanted to yesterday. Even though I started them on line, the short ones weren't as confident, and the line on that mallet makes it easier for me to line up.''

He also went from 31 putts each of the first two days to 27 Saturday. But will it be enough?

The best finish by a defending PLAYERS champ is a tie for fifth -- by Jack Nicklaus in 1977, Tom Kite in 1990 and Hal Sutton in 2001. Don't like those odds? Well, winning two is tough enough. Sutton, Davis Love III, Steve Elkington and Fred Couples have won twice; Nicklaus is the only three-time winner.

You can look at this two ways. Mickelson is five shots back or only three people stand between him and first place. The bottom line is, if Mickelson wants it, he has to grab it.

The weather forecast calls for thunder showers Sunday -- some severe -- which would give this course a different look. It's been windblown and summer-sun baked for the first three rounds, but, Mickelson said, fair.

"I think that the golf course is set up much more difficult, yet more fair than it has been in the past, because you can get to some pins and make some birdies on certain holes,'' he said. "But you also have areas you can miss it. There are short game areas that are in play, and all areas of your game are being tested.

"I think it's a much better test. Even though it's more challenging, more difficult, even though the scores aren't as low, I think it's a very fair test.''

If there isn't any rain, 7-under could win it, or it could be higher. If it rains, the players could be throwing darts.

"It would really make a big difference, shots into the green, getting the ball stopped,'' he said. "If rain is here, you have to readjust, reassess what your target score, what you think you have to shoot and lower it a little bit.''

Regardless, Mickelson will be -- as always -- the People's Choice. And, yes, he knows that the three people between him and the top of the board are Goydos, Kenny Perry and Sergio Garcia (who finished bogey-bogey). Not Woods, Ernie Els and Adam Scott.

And, yes, that matters. To a degree.

"...Given that when Tiger is leading, you feel like you've got to make birdies to go catch him,'' Mickelson said. "There's a chance that if the weather is tough, and it's windy, that a lot of leaders will come back; although I thought today was a day that it could happen, and it just didn't.''

The guys on top played well -- well enough to stay ahead of Mickelson.

But Sunday? Who knows?

Only time will tell if those birdies start falling, if the Phil phactor is for real and if we'll have the first back-to-back winner in THE PLAYERS history.