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LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Phil Mickelson is feeling a lot better about his longest winless streak in more than a decade. The way hes playing now, it might not last much longer. Lefty, you see, is back on a hot streak. Mickelson birdied four of his last five holes Saturday to keep himself in contention for his sixth major title, shooting a 4-under 67 that left him three shots behind leader Rory McIlroy at the PGA Championship. Hell play in the next-to-last group on Sunday with Rickie Fowler. "Ive put myself in a position now where if I ... play the way I feel I can and shoot the number I believe I can, Im in a position to win the golf tournament," the 44-year-old Hall of Famer said. "Thats what feels good." As usual, it was quite a ride for the guy who conceded early in the week that hell always be a streaky player. A couple of birdies on the front side pushed his score lower. Back-to-back bogeys after the turn stymied his surge. Then, just like that, he got it going again, sparked by a 22-foot putt at the 14th. "I needed something to get it going," Mickelson said. "Knocking that one in gave me a little bit of momentum." He kept right on going at No. 15, where a 158-yard shot from the rough plopped down 6 feet from the flag for another birdie. The approach shot at the next hole was even better, as Mickelson zeroed in from 197 yards and left the ball merely 3 feet from the cup for his third straight birdie. He finished with one more on the par-5 18th, just missing a 45-footer for eagle, his knees buckling as the ball curled toward the hole but stayed just above it. "Its so fun for me to be back in the thick of it, have a chance, being contention heading into Sunday and not having to get up at 6 oclock in the morning to tee off -- if I get to tee off," Mickelson said. "Its been a nice change." His last win came at the 2013 British Open, where he turned in one of the great closing rounds in major championship history at Muirfield, giving him the third leg of a career Grand Slam. Its been quite a struggle since then. Mickelson missed the cut at the Masters, a tournament he has won three times. He tied for 28th at the U.S. Open, nowhere close to completing his slam, his putting such a mess that he began experimenting with a claw grip. He needed a strong finish at Royal Liverpool just to finish tied for 23rd in the British Open, his hopes of keeping the claret jug pretty much doused in the first two rounds. But Mickelson is used to these sorts of ups and downs. Thats pretty much been the trademark of his career. Last week in the World Golf Championship, after another discouraging start, he suddenly turned in his best round of the year -- a 62 in the final round. Now, hes looking for another finish like that at Valhalla. "I just kept the momentum going throughout the round" at Firestone, Mickelson said. "I need to do that again tomorrow. Thats the bottom line." Considering the guy hes chasing, Mickelson knows if will take a low round to claim the Wanamaker Trophy. McIlroy, who leads at 13-under 200, is the top-ranked player in the world, a three-time major champion and has won his last two tournaments -- a wire-to-wire triumph at the British Open, followed by a comeback victory at Firestone. The 25-year-old from Northern Ireland is used to being a front-runner. Mickelson knows hell have to chase him down -- Lefty just hopes he remembers how. "I havent won this year. That is a negative," said Mickelson, who hasnt gone so long without a victory since 2003. "I havent been in the heat. I havent been in that position this year and Im certainly going to feel some pressure tomorrow, because I want to have the opportunity to make up for the entire year in one round. "Those five majors that Ive won in the past," he added, "really arent much help going into tomorrows round." Dallas Stars Jerseys . "This isnt really the week you want to lose Chris Greaves," fellow lineman Glenn January said Wednesday after practice. Greaves is expected to miss several weeks after suffering a knee injury in last weeks 36-28 win over the Ottawa Redblacks. John Klingberg Stars Jersey . "I only want to go through this one more time," Crosby said Friday. The 24-year-old captain hasnt played since the symptoms resurfaced following a loss to Boston on Dec. 5. Doctors allowed him to return to full practice on Tuesday and while Crosby is pleased with the way his body is responding he refuses to put on his return. http://www.thedallasstarshockey.com/juli...-hockey-jersey/. However, the 38-year-old is in no hurry to sign with another team. "Im not in a rush. This will be my last contract, so I want to do it right," said Burris on Thursday. Jamie Benn Stars Jersey . The 31-year-old Russian dominated the No. 3-ranked Ferrer throughout, breaking the defending champion and local favourite four times on the indoor hard court. Brian Bellows Jersey .J. -- While Martin Brodeur wasnt willing to say he stole one for the New Jersey Devils against the Columbus Blue Jackets, almost everyone else was. SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Joe Thornton scored the lone shootout goal in the fifth round, and Alex Stalock stopped all five tries as the San Jose Sharks overcame a two-goal deficit to beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 on Saturday night. Joe Pavelski and Jason Demers scored in regulation for the Sharks, who had lost six of eight before rallying for this win. Stalock made 44 saves and got the win in his first career shootout. Ray Whitney and Antoine Roussel scored for the Stars, who were in position to win their third straight game but couldnt hold a third-period lead. Kari Lehtonen made 37 saves. After neither team scored in the first four rounds, Thornton beat Lehtonen for his second shootout goal in as many tries this season. Stalock sealed the win when he stopped Whitney. After a lacklustre start that led to a 2-0 deficit, the Sharks fought back and tied the game early in the third period shortly after failing to convert on the power play. Thornton did a good job keeping the puck in the zone at the blue line and fed Pavelski, who skated from the boards to the middle and beat Lehtonen with a backhand for his 14th goal. That is where the game stood until the shootout. Stalock got his first career start at home in place of Antti Niemi, who got a night off after allowing four goals in a loss at Los Angeles on Thursday night. Stalock had four road starts this season, mostly playing on the back end of back-to-backs. He was shaky at times as the Sharks fell behind 2-0 early in the second periiod.dddddddddddd It is the second straight game and fifth this month that San Jose has allowed the first two goals after not doing it in the first two months. Whitney, who played on the original Sharks team in 1991-92, capitalized on a bad clearing attempt by San Jose when he sent a backhand from the circle through Brad Stuarts legs and over Stalocks shoulder to give him points in 10 straight games against his former team. Each team failed on a pair of power-play chances, and that is where the game stood after the first period. But Dallas struck again early in the second on a delayed penalty when Alex Goligoskis centring pass from a bad angle deflected off Roussel and into the net. The Stars nearly added another but referee Mike Leggo blew his whistle even though the puck was loose in the crease, negating a potential goal by Colton Sceviour. The Sharks picked up their play after that and got on the board midway through the second when Tyler Kennedy fed a trailing Demers, who beat Lehtonen with a one-timer to end a 44-game goalless streak. NOTES: Dallas D Sergei Gonchar left the game in the second period with an upper-body injury. ... The Sharks will be without rookie F Tomas Hertl for at least a month after he was hurt in a knee-on-knee collision with Los Angeles Dustin Brown on Thursday. ... F Vern Fiddler (upper body) was activated from IR to take the place of injured D Aaron Rome (lower body). ... San Jose had its 150th consecutive regular-season sellout. ' ' '