Mickelson (T-2) pleased with progress of game

• By Jay Coffin
• Sep 9, 2012 8:37 PM ET

CARMEL, Ind. – Phil Mickelson is funk free.

Consecutive finishes of T-4 and T-2 have Lefty feeling great about his game and in position to collect $10 million with a victory in two weeks at the Tour Championship.

Mickelson held a share of the third-round lead at the BMW Championship with Vijay Singh and shot a mediocre 70 Sunday at Crooked Stick to tie for second place with Lee Westwood.  

“I was a little bit off today,” Mickelson said. “My timing was a fraction off. I wasn’t quite getting the ball on line with my irons and my putter was just a little bit off. I’m really pleased with the way my game has come around the last two weeks.”

A month ago, Mickelson was playing so poorly that he had to scramble to make the U.S. Ryder Cup team automatically on points. During a 10-week span beginning at the Memorial, Mickelson missed two cuts and did not finish higher than 36th place.

Last week Mickelson tied for fourth place and an 18-under-par effort this week at the BMW ended in a second-place tie. He enters the Tour Championship ranked fourth in FedEx Cup points, which means a victory will add $10 million to his bank account.

“Even though I didn’t get the win, and I would have loved to have, I can see the progress, and hopefully I’ll improve,” Mickelson said.